Adam en Eva 1635

Remy Vuibert created this engraving of Adam and Eve in 1635, after a painting by Raphael in the Vatican. Vuibert, a Frenchman working in Rome, has made a copy of a Renaissance painting in print form. This reproductive engraving reminds us of the institutional structures surrounding art in the 17th century. The Catholic Church controlled the Vatican collections and would have overseen the reproduction and distribution of Raphael's art. The imagery of Adam and Eve, moreover, reflects the Church's teachings on sin and redemption. Vuibert has rendered the idealized nudes of Adam and Eve with impressive skill. But the print also serves the Church's purpose, reinforcing its authority through the dissemination of religious imagery. The historian, therefore, consults archival sources to reveal the complex relationship between art, religion, and power in the 17th century. Art's meaning is always contingent on its historical context.