Adam and Eve

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Edward Hopper

Prints and Drawings

1638

Rembrandt van Rijn
Dutch, 1606-1669

Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn's etching of Adam and Eve, depicts the story of the first Man and Woman with descriptive, wiry lines that create an evocative atmosphere. Shown at the moment of temptation, the couple is surrounded by light that seems about to be blotted out by the dark tree branch and leering serpent (the devil) stretching ominously above them. With their fleshy bodies and ordinary faces (so far removed from Dürer's idealized pair), Rembrandt's Adam and Eve are easy to identify with; their confusion, temptation, and choice become ours.

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Artist: Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn
Title: Adam and Eve
Origin: Holland
Date: 1638
Medium: Etching on ivory laid paper
Inscriptions: Recto, in plate, lower center: "Rembrandt f. 1638"
Dimensions: 162 x 116 mm
Credit Line: Gift of Marjorie Blum Kovler Foundation Collection and the Harry and Maribel G. Blum Foundation Collection
Reference Number: 1987.247

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