This work is the pendant of Adam (P02177). The solidity of the two bodies, Eve's slightly Gothic curves—the prototype of a Germanic Venus— and Adam's fascinated expression, his mouth open in a personification of desire; are outstanding aspects of these two grandiose nudes, the first life-size ones in all of northern painting. Dürer nuances the differences between the two bodies, using a tan color for the man's and a pinkish white one for the woman. And he conceives them as isolated, rather than alluding to the fall of Adam and Original Sin, which are subtly symbolized in the character's expressions and in the motives that accompany them.

Dürer set out his studies and conclusions in a treatise on the proportions of the human body and perspective. This was a fundamental text for successive generations of northern artists.

Queen Christine of Sweden gave this painting to Felipe IV.