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The Temptation of Eve
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
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 landscape scene with animals and a decorative border featuring grotesques, cornucopias, and scrollwork.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit lineThe Temptation of Eve, 1535–55. Jean Mignon (French, active c. 1535–55), after Luca Penni (Italian, 1500/04–1557). Etching; sheet: 42.7 x 58.4 cm (16 13/16 x 23 in.); secondary support: 48.9 x 69.5 cm (19 1/4 x 27 3/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Norman O. Stone and Ella A. Stone Memorial Fund, 1985.54
