Adam and Eve

Durer was the greatest master of the Northern Renaissance and one of the outstanding artistic geniuses of all time. Like his Italian contemporary Leonardo da Vinci, he was a painter and writer of treatises on measurement, proportion, and artistic theory. Unlike that of Leonardo, his fame rests more on his prints than on his work in other media.This superb impression of Durer's masterpiece 'Adam and Eve' demonstrates the synthesis of the Northern and Italian Renaissance styles, which he effected following his first trip to Italy in 1494. Durer's extraodinary ability to capture texture and detail, so characteristic of the Northern tradition, demonstrates his powers of observation and his technical virtuosity as a goldsmith, while his attempt to create ideal human proportions reflects his study of Italian art. The significance of this plate to Durer is indicated in part by the large number of preparatory drawings, many of which have survived, and the fact that it is the only plate on which the artist has signed his full name.