Artwork
The Creation of Eve
The Creation of Eve is an ink print by the Northern Renaissance artist Heinrich Aldegrever. It dates from 1540 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Overview
Heinrich Aldegrever’s 1540 etching titled *The Creation of Eve* presents a compact, monochrome interpretation of the Genesis episode in which Eve is formed from Adam’s rib. The print measures only a few inches across, typical of the “Little Masters” tradition, and relies on fine incised lines to convey the scene’s delicate details.
Subject & Meaning
The image captures the moment of Eve’s emergence beside a reclining Adam beneath a tree, with the newly formed figure holding fruit. By depicting the biblical narrative in an intimate scale, Aldegrever emphasizes the personal, almost tactile nature of humanity’s origin.
Technique & Style
Executed through etching, the work displays a network of precise lines that delineate foliage, rock formations, and the folds of clothing. This meticulous linear approach reflects the influence of Albrecht Dürer’s printmaking and the broader Little Masters’ focus on intricate, miniature compositions.
History & Provenance
Created in the early sixteenth century, the print belongs to Aldegrever’s output during the generation following Dürer’s peak. It circulated among collectors of fine prints in Germany and later entered museum collections, where it is documented as part of the artist’s surviving oeuvre of small-scale religious subjects.
Artist & collection
Artist
Heinrich Aldegrever or Aldegraf was a German painter and engraver. He was one of the "Little Masters", the group of German artists making small old master prints in the generation after Albrecht Dürer.
Adam and Eve Hide Themselves
The First Prohibition
Faun Family
Expulsion from Paradise
The Story of Lot: Lot with His Daughters
Hercules Killing Cacus
The Penance of Saint John Chrysostom
The Flight into Egypt
Shepherd with a Platerspiel
Hercules and the Hind
Saint Christopher at the Border of a River
Adam and Eve at Work