Morisa Rosenberg
Head of Department
Lot 2
Albrecht Dürer(1471-1528)Adam and Eve
Amended
31 March – 9 April 2025, 12:00 PDT
Online, Los AngelesSold for US$114,800 inc. premium
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Victoria Zaks
Specialist, Head of Sale
Catherine Lay
Cataloguer
Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528)
Adam and Eve (Bartsch, Meder, Hollstein 1, Schoch Mende Scherbaum 39), 1504
Engraving on laid paper with Bull's Head watermark (Meder 62), with good contrasts and clarity, the background rich and black, Meder's third (final) state a (of d), trimmed within the platemark, framed.
sheet 9 5/8 x 7 3/8in (24.4 x 18.7cm)
Engraving on laid paper with Bull's Head watermark (Meder 62), with good contrasts and clarity, the background rich and black, Meder's third (final) state a (of d), trimmed within the platemark, framed.
sheet 9 5/8 x 7 3/8in (24.4 x 18.7cm)
Footnotes
Provenance
Galerie Michael, Beverly Hills;
Acquired directly from the above.
One of Dürer's most celebrated engravings, Adam and Eve, stands as a masterpiece of technical precision and intellectual depth. Each detail, from the sculpted figures to the velvety shadows and intricate textures, is rendered with astonishing clarity using only a copper plate, burin, ink, and paper.
Dürer took exceptional care in the creation of this composition, leaving behind more preparatory studies for Adam and Eve than for any of his other prints. It is also the only one to bear his full name and birthplace: Albert Durer Noricus faciebat 1504. Likely intended to impress the Italian market ahead of his second journey to Venice, the print seamlessly fuses Northern European realism with the Renaissance ideals of disegno and classical proportion. The figures' idealized forms, inspired by ancient statuary and Vitruvian theory, reflect Dürer's deep engagement with humanist philosophy.
Beyond its technical brilliance, Adam and Eve is rich in symbolic meaning. The composition embodies duality and division: the Tree of Knowledge physically separates the figures, with Eve associated with temptation and Adam grasping the Tree of Life. The animals — the elk, ox, rabbit, and cat — represent the four humors, a widely debated theory of human temperament. The cat and mouse, predator and prey, coexist in prelapsarian harmony, while a mountain goat teeters on a distant cliff, foreshadowing the fall of man.
A precursor to his Meisterstiche (master prints), Adam and Eve remains a landmark of Renaissance printmaking, held in major institutions worldwide, including the British Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Albertina. The present impression is an outstanding example, preserving the full depth and refinement of Dürer's vision.
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Saleroom notices
Please note the provenance is as follows...
Provenance
Dr. Karl Herweg (Lugt 3974)
Galerie Michael, Beverly Hills
Acquired directly from above.