Adam and Eve

Albrecht Dürer completed this Adam and Eve in 1507, shortly after his second Italian journey. The two life-sized panels show humanity's first parents before the Fall, their bodies modeled on classical proportions. Adam holds an apple branch while Eve receives the forbidden fruit from the serpent.

Dürer applied his studies of ideal human proportions to create these figures. He combined northern European precision with Italian idealism learned from studying ancient sculpture and contemporary masters. The stark black background isolates the figures like specimens of perfect humanity.

These panels remained together until 1777 when they were separated and sold. Reunited at the Prado, they demonstrate Dürer's ambition to rival Italian Renaissance masters on their own terms.