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| Artist | After Bloemaert, Abraham (Dutch painter and draftsman, 1566-1651) After Saenredam, Jan (Dutch engraver and draftsman, 1565-1607) |
| Previous attributions | Previously attributed to Raphael (Italian painter and draftsman, 1483-1520) |
| Title | Adam and Eve |
| Date earliest | possibly about 1700 |
| Date latest | possibly about 1800 |
| Material | oil on panel |
| Measurements | 37 x 27.5 cm (estimate) |
| Description | The painting represents Adam and Eve at the moment of temptation and hesitation before they sin, encouraged by Satan in the form of a serpent. The Garden of Eden appears in the background, populated with different species of fantastic birds and animals, including a unicorn. The painting is a copy of an engraving by Jan Saenredam after Abraham Bloemaert. |
| Subject | religion (Adam, Eve, original sin); animal |
| Collection | Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle |
| Current accession number | B.M.800 |
| Previous accession number(s) | No. 245 |
| Acquisition details | Bequeathed by the founders John and Joséphine Bowes 1885. |
| Provenance | Purchased by John and Joséphine Bowes from Lamer, 70 francs. |
| Principal exhibitions | Scholars of Nature: The Collecting of Dutch Paintings in Britain 1610 - 1857, Ferens Art Gallery, Hull, 1981, cat. no. 7. |
| Notes | The painting appears in the 1934 catalogue as 'after Raphael'. The original engraving by Saenredam after Bloemaert belongs to a series of six prints with subjects from the Old Testament (Bartsch III. 225-226, 13-18). Although the original series dates to 1604, the present painting is probably a later copy. It could have been made in the eighteen century, when Bloemaert's popularity led painters like Boucher to copy his works (Dr Wansink, of the RKD, correspondence, 1981). Another Adam and Eve Eating the Forbidden Fruit by Bloemaert (Musée de la Ville de Vire, Calvados) was destroyed in a fire in 1944 (M. Henri Lesage, Keeper, correspondence, 1960). Eric Young proposed the name of Frederick Bouttats as a possible attribution (museum records). |
| Rights status | The Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle, Co. Durham |
| Author | Dr Mercedes Cerón |
