The Temptation of Eve (1535–55): Art, History and Details

The Temptation of Eve (1535–55) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Jean Mignon (French, active c. 1535–55); Luca Penni (Italian, 1500/04–1557).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the 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.

Object facts

• Title: The Temptation of Eve
• Date: 1535–55
• Creator attribution: Jean Mignon (French, active c. 1535–55); Luca Penni (Italian, 1500/04–1557)
• Culture: France
• Type: Print
• Technique: etching
• Dimensions: 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.)
• Collection: PR - Etching
• Department: Prints
• Accession number: 1985.54

Collection credit

Norman O. Stone and Ella A. Stone Memorial Fund

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.