Hans Sebald BehamGerman, 1500–1550Adam and Eve
Can I see it?
Not on view at present
Where is “Adam and Eve” now? Collection: Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago. Not on view at present. Checked September 29, 2026.
Chicago, United States
It belongs to the collection, but is not on display at present.
- Checked
- In this state since
- Source
- The museum
About the work
For disobeying God’s orders and eating the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, Adam and Eve received the punishment of mortality, hard work, and pain. A skeleton, an obvious symbol of death, forms the trunk of the fatal tree, and the evil serpent winds its way through the skeleton’s hollow torso. Sebald Beham’s sensuous intertwining of the nudes, snake, and skeleton blatantly marks this depiction as a sexual awakening. While Adam is entirely naked, the gesture of Eve’s free hand both covers and accentuates her newfound sexuality.
Art Institute of ChicagoCC BY 4.0
Details
- Accession number
- 1921.316
In the catalog
Sources
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Image: Art Institute of Chicago — CC0
