Durer, Adam and Eve

Durer’s image of Adam and Even is extremely detailed, specific, and a little bit haunting. The engraved work employs countless symbols and a new perspective on the human body. The elk, hare, cat, and ox all represent the four humors of mankind, and cat and mouse represent tension between men and women, and the goat in the background symbolizes the sinners and non-believers. Notice the departure from gothic styles, with depth depicted in the trees behind them and a sense of what is beyond with the cliff. Detail is very emphasized here. Adam and Eve’s sexuality is covered up, emphasizing their newfound sense of shame resulting from eating the forbidden fruit, and the serpent is reaching towards Eve’s hand, continuing the symbolization. The figures in the image are meant to be the ideal human forms.

Durer, The Knight, Death, and The Devil

Durer’s piece The Knight, Death, and the Devil is basically just one giant symbol. The skull representing death, the dog representing fidelity, the castle in the background representing the distance from heaven, the lizard representing sin, and the hourglass representing a lack of time until judgement. Everything in the print is very close together, returning back to the fear of open spaces found in earlier art, the image is entirely taken over. There is a solemn, terrifying, and almost sublime tone to the image, seeing how some of the figures are very dominating and powerful, such as the horse.

Both engravings are meant to symbolize biblical events, or biblical references. Durer seems to have an fixation on the symbolism of sin, seeing as it is the subject of both pieces.