Imagery of Adam and Eve from Early Christian Art through the Reformation The Purpose and Justification of Religious Art throughout the Middle Ages

Gail Walton

Date of Award

2006

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Humanities

First Advisor

Carrasco, Magdalena

Keywords

Medieval, Renaissance Studies, History, Art History

Area of Concentration

Medieval and Renaissance Studies

Abstract

This thesis is about the changes in the purpose and justification of Christian art through the Middle Ages. In order to best analyze the shift in art during this period, I chose one subject to study throughout the thesis. I chose Adam and Eve as my subject because they are depicted so frequently in this period and I perceived definite changes in images of them. These changes were manifested in the style and in the context of these images. First I studied the early medieval period and how images of Adam and Eve play a role in that art. I found that images of them were mostly found in churches and in manuscripts. The purpose for these works depended on their audience, but I found that the emphasis was on the narrative rather than on depicting concepts, though the art did portray some concepts in a subtle way. In the Renaissance, the concepts, such as that of Mary as the new Eve, were in the forefront of the art. This was shown by the numerous ways in which Mary and Eve were explicitly visually linked in Renaissance art. Lastly, I found that images produced just before and during the Reformation changed because of several factors, including technology. In short, I expected that the Reformation itself would have caused more of the change in art that happened in the period of the Reformation, but the causes for change were just as varied as in the periods that proceeded it. The purpose of religious art throughout the Middle Ages largely did not change, but the ways in which that purpose was conveyed did change.

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