The Body of Eve in Andrea Pisano's Creation Relief

Abstract

Traceable to the tenth or eleventh century, the standard iconography of Eve created from Adam's side was not designed for naturalistically rendered figures. In the Creation of Eve (1334–37) from the campanile of Florence Cathedral, however, Andrea Pisano rendered the half-formed Eve in accordance with Aristotelian theories about the natural relation of body and soul then current among theologians and later assumed by art theorists. The naturalistic treatment of Eve's body necessitated subtle revisions to the traditional iconography, raised a key issue for Renaissance art, was significant for the civic program of the campanile, and embodied a common misogynist notion.