Eve Tempted by the Serpent / Defendente Ferrari / Attributed to
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About this Item
Record Details
- Accession Number
- 1967/1.38
- Title
- Eve Tempted by the Serpent
- Artist
- Defendente Ferrari
- Artist Nationality
- Italian
- Artist Life Dates
- active 1500-1535
- Medium and Support
- tempera on panel
- Object Creation Date
- 1520-1525
- Object Creation Place
- Europe (continent)
- Italy (nation)
- Piedmont (region)
- Creation Place 1
- Europe (continent)
- Creation Place 2
- Italy (nation)
- Creation Place 3
- Piedmont (region)
- Credit Line
- Museum Purchase
- Style/Group/Movement
- Renaissance
- Dimensions
- 36.7 cm x 35.7 cm x 3.2 cm (14 7/16 in. x 14 1/16 in. x 1 1/4 in.)
- Century
- 16th century
- Primary Object Classification
- Painting
- Primary Object Type
- panel painting
- Secondary Object Classification
- Decorative Arts
- Physical Description
- A nude woman with long hair flowing down her back grasps a tree branch with her right hand and bends it downward in order to more easily pluck the green fruit dangling at its tip with her left hand. Her white body contrasts starkly with the darker tones of the surrounding landscape. The less conspicuous figure of a serpent with the head of a bearded man coils about the trunk of the tree next to the woman and fixes her with his stare.
- Subject Matter
- This panel represents Eve in the Garden of Eden tempted by the serpent to eat the forbidden fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil (Genesis 3). The serpent appears with the leering head of a bearded man to demonstrate his diabolical nature. This panel originally formed part of a piece of furniture, perhaps a type of marriage chest known as a cassone, where it would have been complemented by other painted decoration, including a companion image of Adam.
- Secondary Keywords
- animals and creatures
- bible
- buildings and the land
- descriptors
- document genres
- document genres by function
- europe (continent)
- food
- fruit
- geographic and political locations
- information forms
- italy (nation)
- materials
- materials by function
- objects we use
- old testament
- open spaces
- open spaces and site elements
- open spaces by form
- religious texts
- reptiles
- visual works
- visual works by subject type
- Rights
- If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit https://www.umma.umich.edu/collections/resources.html for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.
Technical Details
- Collection
- University of Michigan Museum of Art
- Image Size
- 981 x 1391
- File Size
- 136 KB
- Record
- 1967/1.38
- Link to this Item
-
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1967-sl-1.38/1967_1.38.jpg
Rights and Permissions
Related Links
IIIF
- Manifest
-
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/i/image/api/manifest/musart:1967-SL-1.38:1967_1.38.JPG
Cite this Item
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- Full citation
-
"Eve Tempted by the Serpent; Defendente Ferrari; Attributed to". https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1967-sl-1.38/1967_1.38.jpg. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed May 30, 2023.