Adam and Eve in Paradise
Medium
Oil on panel, over traces of underdrawing in black
Dimensions
8 3/4 x 6 1/2 in. (22.3 x 16.5 cm)
Classification
Paintings
Department
Robert Lehman Collection
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Robert Lehman Collection, 1975
Accession Number
1975.1.127
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the serene confines of the Robert Lehman Collection The Metropolitan Museum of Art lies David Teniers the Younger's *Adam and Eve in Paradise* (1650s), a diminutive jewel measuring just 8¾ × 6½ inches. Painted in oil on panel over faint traces of black underdrawing, this intimate work reveals the Flemish master's preparatory precision, allowing us to glimpse his methodical approach beneath the luminous surface. The scene evokes the biblical Eden, with Adam and Eve amid a lush paradise populated by animals and the cunning snake—hallmarks of Genesis imagery popular in 17th-century Flemish ar...
About the Artist
David Teniers the Younger · 1610–1690
David Teniers the Younger (1610–1690) was a Flemish painter who became one of the most versatile and prolific artists of the seventeenth-century Southern Netherlands, renowned for his peasant genre scenes, elegant gallery paintings, and his role as court painter and curator. Born in Antwerp, he trained under his father, David Teniers the Elder, and was influenced by Adriaen Brouwer's peasant subje...