The Creation Of Eve
- Theartist Henley
- Dec 30, 2021
- 2 min read
Finally, we come to the crown jewel of my 'Eve' series. Oil on canvas and a whopping 24 X30 (that's a big piece for me). I had to use a big enough canvas to do this one justice.
So without further ado, I'll go ahead and dissect this one for you (Sorry, the rhyming was unintentional) I've been criticized in the past for relying too heavily on using the central axis in my composition. I do try to make something a little off-center every once in a while. My version shows the sun and planets to convey the idea that the same power that created these celestial bodies also created human bodies. And the hand itself, the very hand of YHWH, is shown crackling with creative power and energy.
I think my little depiction of the creation of the world's first mother holds up pretty well against some of of history's more fanciful representations.
Just for a warm-up, I'll introduce one of the more sedate representations of 'the living one'.
As you can see this painting by Polish artist Pantaleon Szyndler is pretty straightforward; nothing too outlandish, but remember, this was just the warm-up.
Other classical depictions of the the creation of Eve include the the master Michelangelo. This section of the Sistine Chapel is less well known than the Creation Of Adam, but it is no less masterful. Here, God himself gently beckons Eve out of the side of a sleeping Adam.
Things pick up a bit from here. If you have any familiarity at all with Dutch painter Hieronymus Bosch, then you know things are about to get wild. Best known for his tryptic "The Garden Of Earthly Delights", Bosch had a darkly fantastical style. Art scholars are to this day trying to figure out what Bosch was trying to tell us in this one, ranging from theories of warnings of the indulgence of fleshly desires, to a forewarning of judgement to come. The first panel of the tryptic, showing the introduction of Eve to Adam is quite tame compared to the rest.
Even so, this is only the calm before the storm, so to speak; there's already trouble brewing in paradise. Even as God introduces Adam to who appears to be a rather reluctant Eve, the creatures of the Garden scurry about, eating one another. It is a harbinger of things to come on the remaining two panels of the triptych.
The last piece I wanted to mention is this one by Australian artist James Gleeson. I'm not sure what was going on here; it looks like something from mind of Swiss artist HR Giger.
It looks like poor Adam had to torn inside out in order for Eve to be created; the whole process looks rather painful and I doubt even Adam being asleep would have made it hurt less. Had I gone through a traumatic experience like this, I think I would have rebelled, too. See you guys in the next one.
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