Adam and Eve. Albrecht Dürer.

The painting on the left depicts a naked man representing Adam.

The painting on the right depicts a naked woman representing Eve.

According to the Christian religion, Adam and Eve were the first humans that God created on Earth.

In the Bible, God allows Adam and Eve to eat any food except the forbidden fruit from the Garden of Eden.

In the painting, Eve holds an apple in her left hand while a snake, coiled on a tree branch, offers it to her.

The apple symbolises the forbidden fruit.

The snake in the Garden of Eden tempts Eve to try it.

Tempting refers to the act of enticing or encouraging someone to do something that is considered inappropriate or wrong.

Adam and Eve eat the fruit and are expelled forever from the Garden of Eden.

Adam has his mouth slightly open, looking at Eve with an expression of desire.

His skin is more tanned than the skin of Eve.

Eve also looks towards Adam.

The signature of Dürer is on the sign hanging from the branch in the painting of Eve.

Dürer was born and raised in Germany in a rich cultural and artistic environment that inspired his interest in painting.

Dürer is one of the most important painters in 16 century Germany.

Dürer travelled to Italy multiple times and learned techniques from important Italian painters.

After returning to Germany, he began painting in the Italian style, using techniques to create highly realistic nude figures that were similar in size to real-life figures.

Dürer used light colours on a darker background which made the bodies of Adam and Eve particularly striking.

The Italian style of this painting blends with his particular style.

Dürer created precise drawings to make the paintings because he had much experience as a draftsman and engraver.

An engraver is a person who makes an image on a surface like wood or metal and adds ink to copy the image onto another surface, like paper or fabric.

These paintings were a gift from Queen Christina of Sweden to the Spanish king, Philip the Fourth.