Adam and Eve (Durer Full)
1504 · Engraving · National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC
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About this work
- Artist
- Albrecht Dürer (1471–1528)
- Year
- 1504
- Medium
- Engraving
- Original size
- 25.3 × 19.6 cm
- Collection
- National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC
- Movement
- Northern Renaissance
Adam and Eve stand in the Garden of Eden before a dark forest, the serpent passing Eve the fruit as Adam holds a branch of the mountain ash; around them are a cat, a rabbit, an elk and an ox, often read as the four temperaments that came into the world with the Fall, and a mouse, a parrot and a goat on a distant crag. A tablet hanging from a branch reads, in Latin, Albrecht Dürer of Nuremberg made this, with his monogram and the date 1504. Dürer built the figures from careful studies of proportion, drawing on classical statues known to him through prints, among them the Apollo Belvedere, and the engraving set out his idea of ideal male and female beauty for northern artists. The print changed how the subject was shown in northern art, and Dürer returned to it in a pair of life-size panels in 1507, now in the Prado. This impression is in the National Gallery of Art in Washington.
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 before a dark forest with a serpent, a parrot and animals at their feet, in fine black line on cream, for a study, living room or library at 18×24 in black. A white, warm grey or sage wall; it pairs with Expulsion from the Garden of Eden.
Style, size & framing detail
- Style
- Northern Renaissance painting
- Era
- 16th century (1504)
- Orientation
- Portrait
- Palette
- black & white
- Mood
- grand
- Rooms
- living room, study or library, dining room
- Good gift for
- housewarming, art lovers
Size. We'd hang this one at 18×24. Prints at 12×16, 18×24 in — 12×16 for a shelf, desk or a gallery-wall grid; 18×24 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.
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.
