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Artist/Creator (1)	Durer, Albrecht (1471-1528)
Artist/Creator (1).Nationality	German
Title/Caption	Adam and Eve
Date of Work	1504
Notes	Under the influence of Italian theory, Durer became increasingly drawn to the idea that the perfect human form corresponded to a system of proportion and measurements. Near the end of his life, he wrote several books codifying his theories: the Underweysung der Messung (Manual of measurement), published in 1525, and Vier Bucher von menschlichen Proportion (Four books of human proportion), published in 1528, just after his death. Durer's fascination with ideal form is manifest in Adam and Eve. The first man and woman are shown in nearly symmetrical idealized poses: each with the weight on one leg, the other leg bent, and each with one arm angled slightly upward from the elbow and somewhat away from the body. The figure of Adam is reminiscent of the Hellenistic Apollo Belvedere, excavated in Italy late in the fifteenth century. The first engravings of the sculpture were not made until well after 1504, but Durer must have seen a drawing of it. Durer was a complete master of engraving by 1504: human and snake skin, animal fur, and tree bark and leaves are rendered distinctively. The branch Adam holds is of the mountain ash, the Tree of Life, while the fig, of which Eve has broken off a branch, is the forbidden Tree of Knowledge. Four of the animals represent the medieval idea of the four temperaments: the cat is choleric, the rabbit sanguine, the ox phlegmatic, and the elk melancholic. Before the Fall, these humors were held in check, controlled by the innocence of man; once Adam and Eve ate from the apple of knowledge, all four were activated, all innocence lost.
Technique/Process	engravings (prints)
Materials/Medium	Engraving
Dimensions	9 7/8 x 7 7/8 in. (25.1 x 20.0 cm)
Period	Sixteenth Century
Culture	German
Century	16th Century
Location.Current Site/City & Country	New York (N.Y.)
Location.Current Repository	Metropolitan Museum of Art
Repository Notes	Fletcher Fund, 1919
Subject	Prints Intaglio prints Engravings Religious art Bible. O.T. Fall of man Temptations Figures, female Figures, male Nudes, female Nudes, male Animals in art Goats Cats Mice Rabbits Oxen Reptiles Snakes Birds Parrots Trees Apples in art Landscape (representations)
Publisher	The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Publisher.Location	New York (N.Y.)
Credit Line	Image [copyright] The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Reference Number	Met-2617
Collection Title	Prints (Art and Art History Department images)
Collection Information	Collection administered by Visual Resources manager, Architecture Library (402) 472-1193
Copyright Information	http://contentdm.unl.edu:2000/ah_copyright.html

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