Description
Adam shows a man in profile, on a dark ground, whose forehead, cheek and hair are built from small naked infant bodies climbing over one another, in the manner of Giuseppe Arcimboldo’s composed heads. In his raised hand the man holds a rolled scroll, and at the bottom of the painting lies an open book, with a second hand resting on it. We make it as a hand-painted reproduction in oil on canvas, in three sizes, 36 x 43 cm, 50 x 60 cm and 60 x 70 cm, or a size of your own, and you receive a photograph of the finished painting for approval before dispatch.
| Title: | Adam |
| Painter: | in the manner of Giuseppe Arcimboldo |
| Original technique: | not confirmed – without an institution’s record we make no claim about the original’s technique |
| Our reproduction: | hand-painted oil on canvas, three sizes, 36 x 43 cm, 50 x 60 cm and 60 x 70 cm, custom size on request |
We could not verify a published record of this painting at any institution, so we have no measured dimensions and no inventory number to rely on. That is why you will not find a year of execution, a collection name or an accession number on this page. About the original, we say only what can be checked against an institution or on the painting itself.
Adam – in the manner of Giuseppe Arcimboldo
What does the painting show?
A man seen in profile, facing the left edge, on a ground so dark it is nearly black. He wears a red garment, a dark vest and a white shirt open at the neck. In his raised hand he holds a rolled paper scroll upright, and at the bottom of the painting lies an open book, with a second hand resting on it. The title names him Adam, but no record we could check confirms who is meant or who painted this version, so we describe what is visible and leave the name to the title.
What is the head made of?
Look closely at the head and it comes apart. The forehead, the temple, the cheek and the hair are not skin and curls but small naked infant bodies, climbing over one another and fitting backs, knees and shoulders together. Some cling to the brow, others curl into the hair, and one sits against the cheek beneath the eye. The eye, the nose and the parted lips are painted as a face, and a short beard grows at the chin. From a step or two back the bodies close again into a single serious head. On the scroll a few letters are written near the top, and a slip of paper with writing lies in the open book. A dense web of fine cracks runs over the whole surface. The small bodies are painted in the same warm flesh tone as the nose and the lips, so that from a distance they merge with the face; only close up do their outlines, shadows and small limbs appear.
Why is this painting special?
Because it uses the idea of the composed head, a head built from many small things, with living bodies instead of sea creatures or books. The effect works in two directions. Close up, the eye moves from one small figure to the next and the face disappears; at a distance the figures vanish and a thoughtful profile remains, with the scroll raised as if the man had just looked up from reading. The steady eye and the open mouth hold the face together while everything around them moves. How composed heads of this kind are built is the subject of our article about Arcimboldo.
What does the painting mean?
The simplest reading is the one the title gives: Adam, the first man, whose head is made of the children who came after him. A further reading adds the scroll and the book: the first man as a reader and a scholar, thinking about those who descend from him. Both readings are ours, not sourced statements; we offer them only as interpretations.
The motif among the painter’s works
Arcimboldo built heads from many small things. Skokloster Castle in Sweden holds the Librarian, a man composed entirely of books, which the museum counts among his early works, made soon after he came to the Habsburg court in Prague. The Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna holds Water, a head in profile built from sea creatures, and publishes its record. Our versions of related heads are on the shelf: Water, Fire and Summer. All of our Arcimboldo paintings are gathered on the Giuseppe Arcimboldo page.
How is our hand-painted version made?
Every copy is hand-painted in oil on canvas; none is printed. Adam is demanding because of the head: each small body must stay readable as a child, with its own limbs and shadows, and yet all of them together must still read as one face in profile. Our painter first lays in the dark ground and the outline of the figure, then the red garment, the white collar and the hands, and only then the head, body by body, keeping the eye and the nose as the fixed points. The scroll, the book and the letters come last. Our version also keeps the fine web of cracks that runs over the surface in our image, so that the painting has the same aged look. The brushstrokes stay visible close up, and no two copies are ever quite the same.
Which size for which wall?
We paint Adam in three sizes: 36 x 43 cm, 50 x 60 cm and 60 x 70 cm. The 36 x 43 cm suits a desk, a bookshelf wall or a narrow hallway, where the small bodies can be seen from close by. The 50 x 60 cm is right for most rooms, above a sideboard or in a study, and the 60 x 70 cm gives the head enough weight above a sofa or in a library corner. The scene is dark and concentrated, so all three sizes are best hung where they can be seen from close up, in good light. Because the colours are few – a red garment, a white collar and warm flesh against black – a simple dark or dark-wood frame suits all three sizes, while a gilded frame picks up the warm tones of the head. We give no size for the original, because we could not verify one.
Custom size, stretcher bar and frame
If none of the three sizes fits, we paint in the size you ask for; send width and height through the paintings made to order page and we will prepare a quote. The painting is delivered stretched on a wooden stretcher bar and ready to hang, or rolled in a tube. You choose the frame on this page: the 3D frame selector offers 62 profiles, and the painting can also be ordered without a frame.
Delivery and guarantee
We paint to order, so it takes a few weeks, depending on size and on how busy the workshop is. We ship to sixteen countries in the European Union. Before dispatch you receive a photograph of the finished painting; if something is not as you expected, we correct it before it goes out, at no extra cost.
Frequently asked questions
Where is the original?
We could not verify any institution’s record of the painting Adam, so we name no place. We state only what we can check.
Who is shown in the work?
The painting’s title names the man Adam, but no record we could check confirms who is meant. The painting shows a man in profile whose head is built from small infant bodies, holding a scroll above an open book.
Is this a print?
No. Every oil painting reproduction we make is painted by hand, in oil on canvas.
Which size should I choose?
If you cannot decide, take 50 x 60 cm. For a place seen from close by, 36 x 43 cm; for more presence on the wall, 60 x 70 cm.
Can I have a size that is not listed?
You can. We also paint in sizes that are not listed; send width and height through the custom order page.
How is it delivered?
Stretched on a wooden stretcher bar and ready to hang, or rolled in a tube.
What is the work about, in one sentence?
Adam shows a man in profile holding a scroll above an open book, whose head, seen close up, is made of small infant bodies.
Are the cracks in the painting on purpose?
Yes. Our source image of Adam shows a fine web of cracks over the whole surface, and our version paints it in, so that the copy keeps the aged look.
Is the original for sale and what is it worth?
We do not know: we could not verify who holds the original of Adam, so we can say nothing about a sale or a value.
How high should I hang it?
Centre it about 145 cm from the floor; over furniture, with the lower edge 20 to 30 cm above it.
Is it suitable as a gift?
It is, and if you cannot pick a size you can give a gift voucher instead, leaving the choice to whoever receives it.
- Subject: a man in profile whose forehead, cheek and hair are made of small infant bodies, holding a rolled scroll above an open book.
- Original: we could not verify an institution’s record of the original, so we give no year, size or place.
- Ours: a hand-painted copy in oil on canvas, in 36 x 43 cm, 50 x 60 cm or 60 x 70 cm or your own size, with a photograph for approval before dispatch. You choose the frame on this page, or order the painting without one.
- Worth knowing: the title names Adam, but no record we could check confirms who is meant or who painted this version.
