The Temptation of Eve
Medium
etching
Dimensions
sheet: 42.7 × 58.4 cm · secondary support: 48.9 × 69.5 cm
Classification
Department
Prints
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Norman O. Stone and Ella A. Stone Memorial Fund
Accession Number
1985.54
Rights
Public Domain
Tags
About this artwork
In the 1540s Italian artist Luca Penni worked at the French king François I’s court at Fontainebleau. He created this image of the temptation of Eve (etched by Jean Mignon) by directly quoting Michelangelo’s figure of Eve from the Fall of Man scene on the Sistine Chapel ceiling. The twisting serpent around the tree and the figure of Adam to the left—though altered from Michelangelo’s original—are still reminiscent of the earlier composition. Penni added his own unique elements, such as a landsca...