fruit
Forbidden fruit tradition
Old Testament
Eve
First Woman
A figure reaching towards the fruit beside the serpent belongs to the temptation in Eden. Outside the garden, Eve often appears with Adam.
Eve tempted by the serpentWilliam Blake
01 / 03
Iconographic field guide
Identifying features
Serpent, tree, and fruit identify temptation scenes. Cranach and Dürer pairs teach anatomy and sin together. Mary’s blue mantle and crown distinguish the New Eve from the first Eve in later devotional art.
- Clothing
- nude or fig leaf
- Colours
- flesh tones · green
- Symbols
- apple · serpent · fig leaf
Tree
Temptation in Eden
Visual Gallery
Works / 03Eve tempted by the serpentWilliam Blake
Adam and EveRaphael · 1509–1511
The Fall of ManPietro Mera · 1600–1610
Biography
Life & legacy
Genesis 3Genesis tells how the serpent spoke to the woman in Eden and how she and the man ate the forbidden fruit. Later in the chapter Adam names her Eve. The text leaves the fruit unnamed; the apple is a familiar choice in Western art.
Genesis 2–3; typology of Mary as New Eve in patristic and medieval theology.
Representation in Sacred Art
Narrative scenes to recognize
Temptation
Fall of Man
Expulsion from Eden
Visual Recognition Guide
1.With serpent and tree
Temptation in Eden
2.Apple or fruit
Forbidden fruit tradition
3.With Adam in Eden or Expulsion
Genesis 2–3 narratives
4.Nude or fig-leaf drapery
Pre- or post-Fall types
Distinguishing Similar Figures
Often confused with Adam: Paired in Eden scenes; Eve often receives the fruit from the serpent
Often confused with Virgin Mary: New Eve typology; Mary has blue mantle and Marian types
Notes from the Archive
- Cranach and Dürer made Adam and Eve pairs canonical for Northern Renaissance teaching
Practice
