Mary with the Child Holding an Apple, ca. 1475–1500
Drypoint
Sheet dimensions18 × 10 cm
About the workMary and the Child Jesus are lost in contemplation over an ordinary apple. This fruit is more symbolically charged than almost any other. As an emblem of temptation, it represents the Fall of Man brought about by the first couple Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. According to Christian doctrine, the original sin of eating the forbidden apple was atoned for by the incarnation of God in Jesus and his later sacrificial death on the cross. The apple in the child’s hand is therefore also a symbol of his power as the saviour of humankind.
AccessionCollection of the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf
Provenance[…]; seit 1932 Dauerleihgabe der Kunstakademie Düsseldorf
Inventory numberKA (FP) 3498 D
