Lucas Cranach the Elder 1472 – 1553

Adam and Eve (1526)

oil on panel (117 × 80 cm) — 1526 Museum Courtauld Institute of Art Gallery, London

Lucas Cranach the Elder biography

This work is linked to Genesis 3:6

Eve has taken a bite of the juicy apple that she picked from the tree of knowledge - against God's command. Adam scratches his head, perhaps thinking "Is this right". From the tree the snake watches them. Grapevines hide their private parts from our eyes.

This painting is among the prettiest of the 40-50 paintings that Cranach made on the topic of the Fall of Man. It mixes devotion and pictorial strength. There is perfect harmony in the colours of the human skins, the grass, the sky and the animals.

Rate this work of art:

  [75 votes]

Show page metadata