This black-and-white print shows two nude adults, a man and a woman, in full body view standing side by side. The man is positioned on the left, holding up a branch with a parrot perched on it. A small sign hangs from the branch, featuring the artist's name ("ALBERT DVRER") and a date ("1504"). The man turns to look at the woman on the right, with his other hand stretched towards her and one of his legs slightly bent. His facial features are defined, with a straight nose, a slightly furrowed brow, and curly hair framing his face. The woman on the right has long wavy hair cascading down her back. Her face is turned to the left, towards the man, as she reaches out with one hand. In her hand she holds a piece of round fruit, and a snake coils around a branch from the tree behind her, descending towards her and appearing to take a bite of the fruit. She holds another piece of fruit in her other hand, partially hidden. Both individuals have light skin and are bare except for leaves covering their groins. The background is dense with trees and foliage, including more fruit hanging from the central tree, and there are various animals on the ground behind the couple, such as a cat, an elk, a bull, a mouse, and a rabbit. In the top right corner, a jagged rock mountain top is visible with a goat standing on it.
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This black-and-white print shows two nude adults, a man and a woman, in full body view standing side by side. The man is positioned on the left, holding up a branch with a parrot perched on it. A small sign hangs from the branch, featuring the artist's name ("ALBERT DVRER") and a date ("1504"). The man turns to look at the woman on the right, with his other hand stretched towards her and one of his legs slightly bent. His facial features are defined, with a straight nose, a slightly furrowed brow, and curly hair framing his face. The woman on the right has long wavy hair cascading down her back. Her face is turned to the left, towards the man, as she reaches out with one hand. In her hand she holds a piece of round fruit, and a snake coils around a branch from the tree behind her, descending towards her and appearing to take a bite of the fruit. She holds another piece of fruit in her other hand, partially hidden. Both individuals have light skin and are bare except for leaves covering their groins. The background is dense with trees and foliage, including more fruit hanging from the central tree, and there are various animals on the ground behind the couple, such as a cat, an elk, a bull, a mouse, and a rabbit. In the top right corner, a jagged rock mountain top is visible with a goat standing on it.

National Gallery of Art · Print

Adam and Eve

Albrecht Dürer

Date
1504
Medium
engraving on laid paper
Dimensions
sheet (trimmed to plate): 24.8 × 19.2 cm (9 3/4 × 7 9/16 in.)
Classification
Print
Accession number
1943.3.3492
Credit line
Rosenwald Collection
Time span
1501 to 1550
Department
CG-E

Subjects and terms

  • German
  • Tree
  • Fruit
  • Female nude
  • Snake
  • Male nude
Provenance

L. L. Stein?; purchased 1937 by Lessing J. Rosenwald [1891-1979], Jenkintown, PA; gift to NGA, 1943.

Inscription

in plate, upper left, on hanging tablet: ALBERT [9 shaped form] / DVRER / NORICVS / FACIEBAT / AD [artist's monogram] 1504; verso, top left, in graphite by a later hand: |42|; verso, top left, in graphite by a later hand: B.1; verso, lower left, in graphite by a later hand: C.12023; verso, lower left, in graphite by a later hand: D [illegible]; verso, lower center, in graphite by a later hand: B1i[superscript]; verso, lower left, in graphite by a later hand: a. 26/25 / JL[F?]; verso, lower left, in graphite by a later hand: C.5281; verso, lower left, in graphite by a later hand: C.F.R [collector's mark?]; verso, bottom left, in graphite by a later hand: K[I?]N: 12.

Watermarks

bull's head (Meder 62)

NGA object ID 6610. Collection metadata is reproduced under CC0. This work is included because its NGA published-image record is marked open access; visitors should recheck the source record before substantial reuse.