La Tentazione di Adamo ed Eva - F. de Belleforest 1575

📜 Description
Original woodcut published in Paris in 1575 by Nicolas Chesneau and Michel Sonnius for the monumental “Cosmographie Universelle de tout le Monde” by François de Belleforest. The scene depicts the Temptation of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, with Eve reaching for the forbidden fruit while the serpent coils around the Tree of Knowledge. Adam is shown seated beside the female figure, surrounded by numerous animals — including deer, lions, birds, and fantastic creatures — arranged within an elaborate landscape featuring waterways, rocky formations, and secondary narrative episodes in the background. The composition combines narrative, allegorical, and encyclopedic functions characteristic of major sixteenth-century cosmographical publications, where biblical history, geography, and representations of the natural world were integrated into a universal vision of knowledge. This antique print retains strong historical and collectible interest for the quality of its woodcut execution and for its connection to one of the most important illustrated French Renaissance publications.

📚 Historical-Artistic Note
François de Belleforest was a French historian, cosmographer, and writer active during the second half of the sixteenth century, renowned for his extensive geographical and historical compilations. The “Cosmographie Universelle de tout le Monde,” published in Paris by Nicolas Chesneau and Michel Sonnius, stands among the most ambitious French encyclopedic works of the Renaissance. The woodcuts included in the volume combined educational and decorative purposes, translating biblical episodes and cosmographical subjects into richly detailed visual narratives. The representation of the Temptation of Adam and Eve reflects late Renaissance visual culture through its symbolic structure and dense naturalistic imagery.

🧾 Technical Sheet
Type: original woodcut
Author / Manufacture: François de Belleforest
Publisher / Printer: Nicolas Chesneau – Michel Sonnius, Paris
Place: Paris
Period: 1575
Material: paper
Technique: woodcut
Subject / Title: “The Temptation of Adam and Eve”
Edition / Print Run: from “Cosmographie Universelle de tout le Monde”
Dimensions: sheet 23 x 34 cm; image 11 x 15.5 cm
Marks / Signatures / Inscriptions: typographic text in French on verso

🔍 Condition Report
Excellent overall condition with a clear and well-preserved impression and margins consistent with the edition. Minor traces of age in keeping with the period. Verso with French typographic text.