The Apple
Artist: Maxwell, John, RSA RSW · 1905-1962
One of only three known forays made by Maxwell into printmaking.
The subject is ambiguous but has been suggested to represent the Temptation, albeit with Adam replacing the Serpent as the temptor and the two left hand figures explained away as the couple at an earlier stage in their relationship. This explantion however leaves the fifth figure, at right, unidentified. The other well known story featuring these elements is the Judgement of Paris. This interpretation would tally with the three female nudes and the man proffering the apple. With regard to the second man, it is interesting to note that such a figure, sometimes in the guise of Mercury, appears in several etchings by 16th Century German masters including Durer and Barhem, but included too in the work of as late a figure as William Etty, after whose version an engraving was posthumously published by Gambert and Goupil in 1850.
Maxwell's print dates to 1929, the year his work first appeared in public at the 7th Annual Exhibition held by the 1922 Group.
© The Copyright Holder
Additional details
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Object data
Date 1929 Accession G.1994.002 Materials Support paper Dimensions Sight
20.1cm x 15.3cmMedium Ink -
Exhibitions
