Adam and Eve (Cranach Full)
1526 · Oil on beech panel · The Courtauld Gallery, London
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About this work
- Artist
- Lucas Cranach the Elder (1472–1553)
- Year
- 1526
- Medium
- Oil on beech panel
- Original size
- 117.1 × 80.8 cm
- Collection
- The Courtauld Gallery, London
- Movement
- Northern Renaissance
Adam and Eve stand on either side of the Tree of Knowledge, heavy with red apples, in a meadow crowded with peaceful animals, among them a stag, a deer, a lion, a boar, a sheep and a heron. Eve, with long fair hair, has bitten the fruit and offers it to Adam, who scratches his head in hesitation while the serpent coils down the trunk above. As the Courtauld notes, the calm of the animals underlines the serenity that is about to be lost. Lucas Cranach the Elder, court painter to the Electors of Saxony in Wittenberg, signed the panel with his emblem of a winged serpent and dated it 1526 in white paint on the trunk. Cranach and his workshop painted the subject more than fifty times, and this is among the largest versions. It was in Kassel by about 1906 and then belonged to the collector E. P. Warren in Sussex; Arthur Lee, Viscount Lee of Fareham, bought it in 1929 and bequeathed it to the Courtauld in 1947. It hangs in the Courtauld Gallery, London.
This full-bleed edition prints the work edge to edge from a high-resolution scan of the original, very slightly cropped (a few percent at most) to fit the sheet. The gallery edition shows the whole work, uncropped. The original is in the public domain.
Where it works
Adam and Eve beneath a tree of red apples in a dark meadow full of animals, deep green and warm flesh tones, for a living room or study at 16×24 in black. A deep green, warm white or sage wall; it pairs with Expulsion from the Garden of Eden.
Style, size & framing detail
- Style
- Northern Renaissance painting
- Era
- 16th century (1526)
- Orientation
- Portrait
- Mood
- grand
- Rooms
- living room, study or library, dining room
- Good gift for
- housewarming, art lovers
Size. We'd hang this one at 16×24. Prints at 12×18, 16×24 in — 12×18 for a shelf, desk or a gallery-wall grid; 16×24 above a desk, console or in a hallway.
Framing. Printed edge to edge: a slim black or natural wood frame right to the image, or let the canvas wrap do the framing. Also available gallery-wrapped on canvas, ready to hang with no frame.
Pairing. Pairs as a set of three with other famous painting prints (10% off three or more).
Details & materials
Shipping & returns
Is this the whole painting, or a crop?
Is Adam and Eve in the public domain?
What is it printed on?
When was Adam and Eve painted, and in what medium?
What size works above a sofa or bed?
About this design
The Madten promise
An exhibition poster
The same artwork as a gallery exhibition poster — title, artist & date typeset beneath the image on a soft ground.
A fine-art print
The same artwork as a clean fine-art print — the image shown large with a minimal caption.
