An Assessment of Albrecht Dürer’s Masterpiece - Adam and Eve: The Fall of Man

The Fall of Man (Adam & Eve) 

by Albrecht Dürer

 The Fall of Man was a creation of Albrecht Dürer, a well-known German mathematician, printmaker, painter, theorist and engraver who was a native of Nuremburg, Germany.

The engraving of Adam and Eve was motivated by Dürer’s great appreciation of the human body. His enthusiasm of the human form was said to have been inspired by the Italian theory which explained that a system of proportion and measurements were the basis of the perfect human form.

The figure of Adam was believed to have been patterned after Apollo Belvedere (also Apollo of the Belvedere), a passional neoclassicist’s ancient sculpture that was rediscovered in central Italy during the later part of the 15^th century. The figure of Eve on the other hand was believed to have been patterned after the Venus de’ Medici, which was said to have been created to represent Aphrodite, the goddess of love in Greek mythology. Both sculptures were said to be of Hellenistic origin.

The Fall of Man is not merely a work of art. It is also a representation of a number of things related to certain events that occurred during the time of the first man and woman:

• The mountain ash that Adam holds in his hand symbolizes the Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden;
• The fig tree engraved at the center symbolizes the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.
• The malevolent yet appealing viper that is placing the forbidden fruit at Eve’s hand symbolizes the first sin that man committed against God; it is then defied by the parrot which in turn symbolizes wisdom and perceptiveness as well as Christ’s virgin birth.
• The cat and mouse represent the predator and its prey represent the relationship between the two human advocates; and finally,
• The goat which symbolizes paganism and represents the breaking of a sacred decree by the first people on earth.

The artwork also symbolizes the medieval concepts of the four temperaments, namely: melancholic as represented by the elk; phlegmatic as represented by the ox; choleric as represented by the cat; and sanguine, as represented by the rabbit.

Art historians believe that it was the work of the Venetian artist by the name of Jacopo de’ Barbari which inspired Dürer to create such a masterpiece. The engraving of Apollo and Diana was believed to be Dürer’s model for his work. He combined the two human figures (Adam and Eve) in a single composition which resulted to a beautiful piece of artwork.

The figures were designed in such a way that they would be the eye-catcher even in a background consisting of several minor figures. They reflect the artist’s perception of beauty and at the same time possess individuality and nobility.

The figures were engraved in an almost balanced proportion wherein both man and woman have one leg bent while the other leg carry their weight. Both figures have one of their arms slightly lifted away from the body.

Dürer’s work depicted his religious belief that the molded perfection of the human form was of divine origin. The religious presentation of his engraved nude human forms had become more acceptable to his German followers.

Bibliography

The fall of man (adam and eve). Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin College. http://www.oberlin.edu/amam/Durer_Fall.htm.