The Rebuke of Adam and Eve
The history painter Natoire was trained in the studio of François Le Moyne, for whom this meticulously executed painting must have been intended as a tribute. It is a pendant to an earlier work by Le Moyne of the same size, also painted on copper, which depicts Adam receiving the forbidden fruit from Eve (private collection). Natoire shared with Le Moyne a predilection for the nude that here links biblical to more sensual subjects popular in eighteenth-century France. Note the rosy flesh of Natoire’s disappointed Eve, a tear glistening on her cheek, contrasted with Adam’s taut musculature.
Artwork Details
- Title: The Rebuke of Adam and Eve
- Artist: Charles Joseph Natoire (French, Nîmes 1700–1777 Castel Gandolfo)
- Date: 1740
- Medium: Oil on copper
- Dimensions: 26 3/4 x 19 3/4 in. (67.9 x 50.2 cm)
- Classification: Paintings
- Credit Line: Purchase, Mr. and Mrs. Frank E. Richardson III, George T. Delacorte Jr., and Mr. and Mrs. Henry J. Heinz II Gifts; Victor Wilbour Memorial, Marquand, and The Alfred N. Punnett Endowment Funds; and The Edward Joseph Gallagher III Memorial Collection, Edward J. Gallagher Jr. Bequest, 1987
- Object Number: 1987.279
- Curatorial Department: European Paintings
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