fine art

Adam and Eve

Talal Alramadhan

Suzanne Valadon’s painting on Adam and Eve

Suzanne Valadon, a French painter is acknowledged with masterpieces that continue to attract admiration from art lovers up to date. Her pieces usually involved mostly female nudes, still life, landscapes as well as female portraits. Nevertheless, her kind of art is not confined to a particular line ; rather she is explorative in her drawings.

The painting on Adam and Eve is among her famous pieces as it gained popularity for its exquisite nature. Care and detail used in painting the piece is fascinating especially given the attention paid to the curves and edges. Smooth transitions from one color to another makes the contrast less screaming and, therefore, assume a calm atmosphere. Apparently, that allows the observer to notice the ring background within which the images are based. In that respect, the thick green grass and brown surface offer a reliable surface from where the portraits spring. The leafy tree that stands next to the characters blends closely with the figures especially given that Adam is holding onto branch covering his nether regions. Eve is apparently clutching on to a fruit that has an orange color. She is staring at the fruit perhaps admiring it and contemplating on eating it. Adam is holding her hand as if to stop her from eating the round fruit.

The message that can be perceived of the painting is that the female sex is somewhat weak and thus needs the advice of the opposite sex in making some decisions. In the same light, she appears to have attention for detail as her eye caught the fruit, while it clearly missed that of the male sex. Nevertheless, together, the characters in the picture complement one another in some way.

Good draft. There is more discussion of form that the meaning though so you need to recalibrate. Are there visual clues to Eve’s dependence on Adam? Is there some reason that Adam covers his “nether” regions (sort of an old fashioned term but that is fine) and she does not? I know that this sort of image is new to you but it is common for Adam to be more covered than Eve. Is there something in your culture that contrasts male and female modesty? I know that women are often covered in Islam so this image would be shocking but does that tell you something about Eve. You can bring that point of view in if you would like. It may be hard since Islamic religious art is non-figurative but think about what this could mean from that point of view.

References

Adam and Eve - Suzanne Valadon - The Athenaeum. (2013, March 23). Retrieved from http://www.the-athenaeum.org/art/detail.php?ID=95086

Exploring Women's Bodies: Adam and Eve through the millenia. (2010, January 4). Retrieved from http://susansingerart.blogspot.com/2010/01/adam-and-eve-through-millenia.html

�Do you mean a single style or are you commenting specific about the element of line?

�Do you mean her paintings?

�Do you know this or just assume it because it is in the text book?

�Do they fade into one another or are there edges between the different colors?

�Dramatic or jarring would be better words.

�Not needed.

�What do you mean? Is the background circular and enclosing the figures? Can you be more specific?

�Reliable how? Do you mean natural or believable?

�Is it blending – mixing together or is it that they harmonize and go well together (showing unity)