Zahrtmann did two versions of Adam. He called the one above Adam in the Garden of Eden
and the one below Adam in Paradise. I guess paradise didn't have snakes. These paintings,
despite the vines covering the crotches, were considered too erotic for public exhibition,
and they went straight into the hands of private collections.
Beautiful and seductive indeed!
ReplyDeleteApparently, Adam was Aryan-Dee Exx
ReplyDeleteAt least in Mr. Zahrtmann's world.
Delete- Adam som fallisk symbol -
ReplyDeleteSo shocking to traditional art circles and the public, this painting is loaded with sexual imagery. The very colorful and lush setting, and the phallic symbolism of the slithering snake and the stalk of ripe bananas. And Adam pulling at the vine that covers his genitals, as if he is offering to reveal all !
The conservative art academics accused Zahrtmann of actually painting Adam full nude and then painting the vine over Adam’s genitalia to appease them.
Shocking content then, that no gallery would show, now considered one of Zahrtmann’s finest works.
Perhaps it was best that many of his works were in private hands, as the art may have been pillaged or destroyed by the Nazis during the German occupation of Denmark.
Today his works can be seen at the Bornholm Art Museum in Denmark and the Imago Museum in Pescara Italy, both off the track of tourists but well worth visiting. :)
It seems odd that artists could get away with fully nude versions of Adam in Medieval times, but not when Zahrtmann did this. Now that I think about it, however, those weren't as sexually charged as these.
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