The Creation of Adam – The Breath of Life (La Creation d'Adam)
Etching with a Biblical scene of the Genesis (2:7), illustrating the creation of Adam, likely a reversed copy of an etching with the same scene, by Étienne Delaune. In the first plane, Adam awakens, reclined against a tree, while God, dressed in a draping tunic and floating inside a ring of clouds, blows into him the breath of life. On the background, to the left of the tree on which Adam lies, is a landscape with small trees and animals: a cow, a couple of rabbits, a bear, and a frolicking deer. This composition is very close to a print created by Bernard Salomon on the same subject, illustrating the historical scenes of the Bible
Artwork Details
- Title: The Creation of Adam – The Breath of Life (La Creation d'Adam)
- Artist: Copy of (?) Etienne Delaune (French, Orléans 1518/19–1583 Strasbourg)
- Artist: Closely related to Claude Paradin
- Date: ca. 1569
- Medium: Etching
- Dimensions: Sheet (trimmed): 2 11/16 in. × 4 in. (6.8 × 10.2 cm)
- Classifications: Prints, Ornament & Architecture
- Credit Line: Gift of Harry G. Friedman, 1964
- Object Number: 64.682.100
- Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints
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