Adam and Eve 1533

Lucas Cranach the Elder painted Adam and Eve with oil on wood, though its exact date is unknown. The image represents the biblical creation story, but it's equally interesting to consider it as a commentary on gender roles in 16th-century Germany. Cranach was a court painter in Wittenberg, a city at the heart of the Protestant Reformation. His Adam and Eve offers a novel take on the traditional representation. Note how Adam is not only taking the fruit, but gazing upon Eve with desire. The animals in the background may symbolize different human sins. It could also be suggesting that men need women to provide for the continuation of society. To fully appreciate this artwork, one might explore theological interpretations of the Fall, as well as the social history of gender in Renaissance Europe. Examining Cranach's connections to Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation provides more socio-political context, too. Art is shaped by its time.