Rubens’s copies of old masters
by Rosily Roberts
…Rubens used a similar treatment in his copy of Titian’s Adam and Eve, which was made during his same trip to Spain. In Titian’s work, Eve is shown accepting the apple from the devil, who is half child and half serpent, while Adam feebly tries to stop her.
In keeping with his own concept of painting, he made significant changes to the original, including a more intense palette. He altered Adam’s posture and made him more muscular, in accordance with his interest in depicting the body as curvaceous. In fact, Rubens’ Adam was based on the sculpture of the Belvedere Torso in the Vatican Museum, another nod to classicism. Eve too is portrayed as fleshier and less smooth than Titian’s own original woman. Rubens has further heightened the drama of the scene by making Adam’s facial expression seem more shocked and alarmed by Eve’s actions. …
