Adam

Inspired by Albrecht Dürer, Lucas Cranach the Elder produced numerous versions of Adam and Eve; they do not so much testify to his grappling with the ancient theory or proportion as to his interest in the relationship between man and woman. Religious and erotic references are interwoven. This version by Lucas Cranach the Younger on two panels shows full-length, roughly life-size nudes facing each other beneath the Tree of Knowledge. They are looking at each other—Eve seductively, Adam doubtful—still in paradisiacal harmony with their surroundings. Each is holding an apple; the Fall and Expulsion from paradise are imminent. The origin of these panels is not known; they presumably entered the Dresden Kunstkammer directly from the estate of Cranach’s workshop.