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| Artist: | Beham, Hans Sebald (1500 - 1550) |
|---|---|
| Title: | Adam and Eve, 1543 |
| Medium: | Original Engraving |
| Image Size: | 3.2 in x 2.2 in (8.2 cm x 5.7 cm) |
| Sheet Size: | 3.2 in x 2.2 in (8.2 cm x 5.7 cm) |
| Framed Size: | 20 3/8 in x 18 5/8 in (51.77 cm x 47.32 cm) |
| Signed: | Monogrammed in the plate in the upper left of the plate, just below with the date, "1543" |
| Condition: | This work is in excellent condition, a fine, rich impression |
| Gallery Price: Item# 2077 | Sorry, this item is sold. Please visit the rest of our Beham fine art collection |
| Historical Description: | |
|---|---|
Monogrammed in the plate in the upper left ‘HSB’ with the date, “1543,” this work is a fine dark black impression printed on a fine laid paper. According to Goddard (1988) , “The tree of knowledge of good and evil takes the form of a tree of death; a skeleton whose arms turn, Daphne-like, into branches. This, of course, is in clear opposition to the tree of life, which God had also placed in the garden of Eden. The Devil (serpent) presents Adam and Eve with the apple, which is mankind’s downfall. Eve, now aware of her sinfulness, hides her nakedness in shame, and Adam uses his free hand to grasp the flaming sword that God placed at the east of the garden of Eden to guard the way back to the tree of life” (115) . Catalogue Raisonné & COA: 1) Goddard, Stephen H., ed. The World in Miniature Engravings by the German Little Masters 1500 – 1550, Spencer Museum of Art: Kansas City, 1988. Listed and illustrated as catalogue raisonné no. 27 on pgs. 114-5. About the Framing: |
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Biography of Hans Sebald Beham
Barthel Beham was the older brother of painter, Hans Sebald Beham, a prolific printmaker who produced over 2,000 prints during his career. He focused on tiny engravings, placing him in the German printmaking school called the Little Masters. Hans Sebald Beham also worked with larger woodcuts and designed playing cards, wallpaper, coats of arms, and patterns for other artists. He illuminated a prayer book and created a painting for Cardinal Albrecht of Brandenburg. Along with his brother and Georg Pencz, Hans Sebald Beham was banished from Nuremberg in 1525 due to his beliefs that opposed Lutheranism, the dominant religion of the city. After returning to the city, Beham was exiled again for publishing a book that was believed to be plagiarized from one of Albrecht Durer's writings.
