The Arts in Society Conference Proceedings
The International Journal of the Arts in Society: Annual Review
Navel Gazing
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- Title: Navel Gazing: On Albrecht Dürer's Adam and Eve (1504)
- Author(s): Vaughan Anthony Hart
- Publisher: Common Ground Research Networks
- Collection: The Arts in Society
- Journal Title: The International Journal of Arts Theory and History
- Keywords: Albrecht Dürer, Vitruvius, Adam and Eve, Navels, Human Proportion
- Volume: 12
- Issue: 1
- Date: November 15, 2016
- ISSN: 2326-9952 (Print)
- ISSN: 2327-1779 (Online)
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.18848/2326-9960/CGP/v12i01/1-10
- Citation: Hart, Vaughan Anthony . 2016. "Navel Gazing: On Albrecht Dürer's Adam and Eve (1504)." The International Journal of Arts Theory and History 12 (1): 1-10. doi:10.18848/2326-9960/CGP/v12i01/1-10.
- Extent: 10 pages
Open Access
Copyright © 2016, Common Ground Research Networks, Some Rights Reserved, (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License
Abstract
This article re-examines one of the most famous images of the Renaissance, that of “Adam and Eve” as engraved in 1504 by “Albrecht Dürer.” The article discusses the influence on Dürer of the theories of “human proportion” outlined by the Roman architectural writer “Vitruvius.” These theories are seen as the context for the hitherto unexplained presence on Adam and Eve of “navels.” The article also examines the historical dilemma of how to represent the perfect human form of the biblical pair whilst reflecting the story of their birth.
