The Creation of Eve

The design of this relief is based on a woodblock. It shows Adam asleep in the foreground, with Eve rising out of his body at the bidding of God, who stands on the right. The woodblock image appeared in the so-called Biblia Pauperum. This is a medieval picture-book which pairs scenes from the Old and New Testament. This is a way of showing that God intended that events in the past would foreshadow the future. The scene here comes from a version of the Biblia Pauperum that was made in about 1460, probably in the North Netherlands. It was a very influential model for works in other materials. This scene foreshadows the Crucifixion. A suitable site for it would have been a niche in the framework mouldings of an altarpiece containing the major scenes of Christ's Passion. The style of the relief suggests that it was made in the early 16th century. The simplified forms link it with carvings made in Brussels in the late 1400s. It has none of the style of works carved after 1520.