Image Details
Courtesy Hatfield House, England
Eve coaxes Adam with an apple from the Tree of Knowledge, at left, as the serpent—oddly portrayed with ears—watches from the tree branch. Even odder, Adam enigmatically points with the index finger of his six-fingered left hand. Titled “Adam and Eve,” this work has been attributed to either of two Dutch painters, Maerten van Heemskerck of Alkmaar (1495–1574) or Jan van Scorel (1498–1562). It has been suggested that the “Adam” and “Eve” are portraits of Andries van Oudhoorn and Wilhelmina Paling, painted for their marriage in 1516.