Adam and Eve

1460/1480

Workshop of Master of the Borders with the Four Fathers of the Church

Associated Names
German 15th Century

Artist

Master of the Borders with the Four Fathers of the Church

Related Artist, German, active c. 1470

This is a painting of a tree with a serpent. The image depicts a central tree with a lush canopy of leaves, surrounded by an ornate border with floral patterns in gold and black. Winding its way around the tree's trunk is a large serpent. At the base of the tree, there is shrubbery. Traditional elements indicate a story with roots in religious or mythological themes. This is in the style of Renaissance biblical illustration.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    metalcut, hand-colored in yellow, red-brown lake, and green

  • Credit Line

    Rosenwald Collection

  • Dimensions

    sheet: 6.3 × 4.8 cm (2 1/2 × 1 7/8 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1943.3.680

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Schreiber, no. 2173, State a

  • Series Title

    Twenty Scenes from the Oxford Passion

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Martin Aufhäuser [1875-1944], Munich, Holland, and Los Angeles; [1] Lessing J. Rosenwald, Jenkintown, PA; gift to NGA, 1943.
[1] For complete information on Aufhäuser's collection, see Rosenwald Papers, box 9, and Richard S. Field, Fifteenth Century Woodcuts and Metalcuts, Washington, D.C., 1965, Preface (np).

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1941

  • The First Century of Printmaking 1400-1500, The Art Institute of Chicago, 1941, no. 43a.

1956

  • Selected Prints from the Lessing J. Rosenwald Collection, City Art Museum, St. Louis, MO, 1956.

1965

  • Fifteenth-Century Woodcuts and Metalcuts from the Collection of the National Gallery of Art, NGA, 1965-1966, no. 296, repro.

1990

  • Gardens on Paper: Prints and Drawings, 1200-1900, NGA, 1990, no. 4, repro.

Bibliography

1926

  • Schreiber, Wilhelm Ludwig. Handbuch de Holz- und Metailschnitte des XV Jahrhunderts. 8 vols. Leipzig: Verlag Karl W. Hierseman, 1926-1930.

1965

  • Field, Richard S. Fifteenth Century Woodcuts and Metalcuts from the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.. Exh. cat. Washington: National Gallery of Art, 1965.

1990

  • Clayton, Virginia Tuttle. Gardens on Paper: Prints and Drawings, 1200-1900. Exh. cat. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1990: 4.

Watermarks

none

Wikidata ID

Q64962921

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