The Temptation Of Adam

So, as promised here it is; my second painting of the 'Eve' series, the 'Temptation Of Adam'.

Beware of women bearing fruit...

It's a pretty solid piece of work; technique-wise, it's not my best work but it's far from my worst. Actually, it's a favorite of both mine and many of my followers. While working on it, I found that using a bit more mineral spirits and linseed oil gives the painting an almost watercolor-like look and feel.

The 'Eve' paintings were something that just struck me; I didn't intentionally set out to do a series of paintings with such a religious theme, but I quickly found that I was in good company.

My old friend William Blake, who I mentioned in my previous post, has also done some work on the subject.

William Blake, portrait by Thomas Phillips, circa 1807. Here Blake is trying to figure out why Eve was so tempted.

In fact, he completed at least two such paintings.

Below we see Eve herself succumbing to temptation from the serpent.

The Serpent whispers sweet nothings to Eve while Adam naps.

In Blake's painting (Blake preferred tempera or watercolor to oil, by the way. He said that oils made the painting appear 'muddied' and the details blurred out; I find just the opposite.) Eve looks positively innocent as she is seduced by the serpent. Meanwhile Adam sleeps blissfully ignorant of the tragedy in the making. How Eve could accept anything from Blake's serpent and not run off screaming in terror is beyond me.

"Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made..." - Genesis 3:1 KJV

In this last painting, we see both Adam and Eve giving in to their temptation, with Eve being fed the fruit directly by the serpent. The crafty snake has succeeded in bringing about the downfall of humankind!

To this day, women are often depicted with snakes; this seems to be a primal, evocative image which strikes a deep cord as people recall the original temptation. A prime example is Britney Spears' 'I'm A Slave 4 U' performance at the 2001 MTV Video Music Awards.

Is Britney tempted...or is she the temptress? You decide.

Other artistic endeavors have also dealt with this theme. Singer-songwriter Josh Ritter has a song by the same name as my painting, 'The Temptation of Adam'. The song deals with an impending apocalypse as Adam contemplates remaining in an underground bunker with his Eve; he fears that if the bombs don't fall and life goes back to normal, he will lose her. Pretty wild stuff.

Josh Ritter contemplating 'The Temptation of Adam'

Josh croons,

"Oh, Marie, it was so easy to fall in love with you

It felt almost like a home of sorts or something

And you would keep the warhead missile silo good as new

And I watched you with my thumb above the button"

The ending lyrics to the song go something like this:

"Oh, I think about the "Big One," W-W-I-I-I

Would we ever really care the world had ended?

You could hold me here forever like you’re holding me tonight

I think about that great big button and I’m tempted"

I think I speak for all of us Josh, when I ask, please don't push the button.