About the Work
From the mid-1930s, Beckmann worked intensely with sculptures and created eight figures in clay, which were then later cast in bronze. With “Adam and Eve”, Beckmann addresses one of his central motifs: the conflict between the sexes. Adam, bearing a resemblance to the artist, holds a tiny Eve in his hand. The serpent is an indicator of the imminent disaster – the expulsion from Paradise. Beckmann intentionally designed a rather ungainly Adam. As the National Socialists massively opposed the artist, he created a deliberate antithesis to their ideal body image.