Eve and the Fall in Renaissance art: Gender bias against women

This thesis examines the subject matter of Adam and Eve in 15 th and 16th Century Renaissance paintings and prints, and argues that they both reflected and encouraged a religious and social bias towards women. The biblical story of Adam and Eve has been the springboard for Western civilization's views of sin. The question that has plagued those from a Judeo-Christian background is whether or not Eve was responsible for the Expulsion from Paradise. She first talked with the serpent; she first ate the fruit; she gave the fruit to Adam. For this reason, the blame for original sin and the Fall has often been assigned to Eve by culture, if not theology. The concept of sin as a feminine quality is evident in the artistic depictions of Eve during the Renaissance.