On-line gallery
- Reference number
- P01692
- Author
- Rubens, Peter Paul (Flemish)
- Title
- Adam and Eve
- Chronology
- 1628-1629
- Technique
- Support
- Measures
- 237 cm x 184 cm
- School
- Theme
- Shown
- No
- Entrance
- COLECCION REAL
- Procedence
- Royal Collection
Eve accepts the forbidden fruit
from the hands of the devil, who is
half child and half serpent.
Sitting on the roots of a the tree
of Good and Bad, Adam tries to stop
her.
This is a copy of a painting on the
same subject that Titian made for
Felipe II (P429). Rubens saw it
during his trip to Spain in 1628
and 1629. In keeping with his own
concept of painting, he made
significant changes with respect to
the original, including the use of
a more intense palette. He changed
Adam's position and gave him more
muscles, basing his figure directly
on the sculpture of the Belvedere
Torso at the Vatican Museum. The
inclusion of a parrot, not present
in Titian's work, as a symbol of
Good, strengthens the idea of
Redemption, which is contrasted
with the fox that alludes to Evil
and Lust.
This work belonged to Rubens until
his death, and appeared at the El
Pardo Palace years later.
