Paintings
The Rubens House > Collection > Paintings > Rubens’ own work > Adam and Eve
Adam and Eve
Very little is known about Rubens’ output between 1598, the year when he established himself as an independent artist, and his departure for Italy in 1600.
This panel depicting the fall from grace of Adam and Eve, the first humans, is one of the few surviving paintings from that period. It is painted in a way that owes a great deal to the style of Otto van Veen, Rubens’ last and most influential teacher. The use of colour – mainly cool hues of green and blue – and the clear contours are also reminiscent of van Veen. At this stage Rubens’ treatment of the figures and the landscape was still rather static and precise. After his time in Italy his style became freer and his use of colour more expressive.
Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640)
Adam and Eve
oil on panel
