The Fall of Man

The Fall of Man

Title

The Fall of Man

[Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, revised 2013]

Painting on wood

Medium

Painting on wood

[Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, revised 2013]

Adam and Eve stand in a landscape with the tree of knowledge between them. The serpent is coiled around a branch and extends down to Eve. She is about to offer Adam the apple. Both look at each other.

Attributions
Lucas Cranach the Younger
Copy after Lucas Cranach the Younger

Attributions

Lucas Cranach the Younger

[Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, revised 2013]

Copy after Lucas Cranach the Younger

[http://www.googleartproject.com/de/collection/the-museum-of-fine-arts-houston/artwork/the-fall-of-man-after-lucas-cranach-the-younger/34621053/details/]

Production date
1549

Production date

1549

[dated]

Dimensions
Dimensions of support: 21.7 x 17.1 cm

Dimensions

  • Dimensions of support: 21.7 x 17.1 cm

  • Dimensions including frame: 33.2 x 27.3 cm

  • [Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, revised 2013]

Signature / Dating

Artist's insignia at the base of the tree trunk: winged serpent with dropped wings facing left and dated '1549'

Signature / Dating

  • Artist's insignia at the base of the tree trunk: winged serpent with dropped wings facing left and dated '1549'

Owner
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
Repository
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
Location
Houston
CDA ID
US_MFAH_44-546
FR (1978) Nr.
FR432
Persistent Link
https://lucascranach.org/en/US_MFAH_44-546/

Provenance

  • 1929 art market Berlin

  • collection of Percy Straus
    [Friedländer, Rosenberg 1979, No. 432]

  • The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, The Edith A. and Percy S. Straus Collection

[Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, revised 2013]

Literature

Reference on page Catalogue Number Figure / Plate
Hoppe-Harnoncourt 2015 163, Fn. 54
AuthorAlice Hoppe-Harnoncourt
TitleLucas Cranach der Jüngere? Überlegungen zu zwei datierten Werken aus dem Kunsthistorischen Museum in Wien
Publicationin Elke A. Werner, Anne Eusterschulte, Gunnar Heydenreich, eds., Lucas Cranach der Jüngere und die Reformation der Bilder
Place of PublicationMunich
Year of Publication2015
Pages154-167
Show Literature
Wadum 2015 197, Fn. 22
AuthorJorgen Wadum
TitleCranach, His Sons, and Their Workshop. the Never-ending Problem of Hands (Part I)
Publicationin Elke A. Werner, Anne Eusterschulte, Gunnar Heydenreich, eds., Lucas Cranach der Jüngere und die Reformation der Bilder
Place of PublicationMunich
Year of Publication2015
Pages191-199
Show Literature
Waterman 2015 281-288 Fig. 1
AuthorJoshua P. Waterman
TitleThe Artistic Emergence of Lucas Cranach the Younger
Publicationin Elke A. Werner, Anne Eusterschulte, Gunnar Heydenreich, eds., Lucas Cranach der Jüngere und die Reformation der Bilder
Place of PublicationMunich
Year of Publication2015
Pages280-289
Show Literature
Wilson 1999
AuthorCarolyn C. Wilson
TitleLucas Cranach the Younger: the 1549 "Adam and Eve" and related drawings
JournalZeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte
Issue62
Year of Publication1999
Pages534-540
Show Literature
Exhib. Cat. Basel 1974/1976 510 355 (u.)
AuthorDieter Koepplin, Tilman Falk
TitleLukas Cranach. Gemälde, Zeichnungen und Druckgraphik
Volume1, 2
Place of PublicationBasel, Stuttgart
Year of Publication1974
Link http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bsz:16-diglit-104522
Show Literature
  • The Fall of Man, 1549

Images

Compare images
  • overall
  • irr

Technical studies

10. 2015Technical examination / Scientific analysis

  • Infrared reflectography
  • irr

Underdrawing

DESCRIPTION

Tools/Material:

- fluid, black medium, fine brush; the initial design was probably fixed with a dry, black drawing material, dark chalk, stylus

Type/ductus:

- freehand underdrawing

- fine lines

- possibly also some washes

Function:

- relatively binding for the final painted version; lines define the main contours and describe essential details as well as facial features; no representation of volume with hatching-strokes but washes have been applied in some areas

Deviations:

- minor corrections were made to forms during the painting process; numerous small changes (e.g. in the foliage and among the animals in the background)

INTERPRETATION

Attribution:

- Lucas Cranach the Younger

[Sandner, Smith-Contini, Heydenreich, cda 2016]

  • photographed by Gunnar Heydenreich
  • photographed by Ingo Sandner

Citing from the Cranach Digital Archive

Entry with author
<author's name>, 'The Fall of Man', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/US_MFAH_44-546/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})
Entry with no author
'The Fall of Man', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document, entry or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/US_MFAH_44-546/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})

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