Body beautiful …
In the centuries that preceded the Renaissance, artists hardly ever depicted naked bodies. If they did, it was in finger-wagging, guilty scenes. Dürer’s celebrated print of 1504 straddles these two worlds, exulting antiquity’s pursuit of the perfect nude, but with plenty of medieval symbolism.
New classics …
Adam is based on the recently unearthed Apollo Belvedere, while Eve resembles the Medici Venus. Proportion and symmetry reigns, with the couple loosely mirroring each other, their weights borne on one leg, each raising one arm.
Animal passions …
The minutely detailed animals represent the four temperaments, believed to be in perfect balance before the fall: the sanguine rabbit, the phlegmatic bull, the choleric cat and the melancholic elk. The cat is about to kill the mouse – a taste of what’s to come.
Making a mark …
Unusually, Dürer puts his name and address on a sign within the engraving: a bold advertisement for his skills. Unlike paintings, multiple prints could travel, and this image went as far as India.
Included in The Renaissance Nude, The Royal Academy of Arts, W1, to 2 June
