Fall of Man from The Small Passion series (Die Kleine Passion)

This print illustrates the moment when Eve defied God’s command and ate fruit from the Tree of Knowledge. Upon sharing it with Adam, both became aware of their nakedness and were ashamed. As punishment for their sins, Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden and forced to till the soil for their food.

Dürer self-published this series—his most extensive Passion series, including 37 woodcuts accompanied by narrative verses—around 1511. Dürer enhanced his Small Woodblock Passion by adding additional scenes from the Bible to the beginning and end of the series. Grouped together at the beginning of the series, the Fall of Man, the Expulsion from the Garden, the Annunciation, and the Nativity create a sort of prologue to the events of Christ’s Passion. By also adding the Pentecost and the Last Judgment to the end of the series, Dürer positioned the Passion of Christ at the center of a larger, all-encompassing narrative of the fall and redemption of humankind.