Eve (1505–36): Art, History and Details

Eve (1505–36) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Daniel Hopfer (German, c. 1470–1536).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

Sometimes the scarcity of nature is just as significant as its abundance. Here, a tree that appears to be dying forms the backdrop for Eve, who covers herself in a pose associated with modesty in Classical sculpture. Her arms convey the shame of sin, a state of despair emphasized by her downward gaze. The dying tree also suggests paradise lost, the inevitability of death. Daniel Hopfer was one of the first artists to use the etching technique, printing his works from iron plates, rather than copper, as became common later.

Object facts

• Title: Eve
• Date: 1505–36
• Creator attribution: Daniel Hopfer (German, c. 1470–1536)
• Culture: Germany, late 15th-early 16th century
• Type: Print
• Technique: etching
• Dimensions: Image: 28.7 x 11.3 cm (11 5/16 x 4 7/16 in.); Sheet: 28.7 x 11.3 cm (11 5/16 x 4 7/16 in.)
• Collection: PR - Etching
• Department: Prints
• Accession number: 1975.121

Collection credit

Delia E. Holden Fund

Further reading listed by the museum

• Lee, Sherman E. “The Year in Review for 1975.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 63, no. 2 (February 1976): 31–71.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.