Art Analysis: Adam and Eve, Constantin Brancusi

Adam and Eve (1921)
Chestnut (Adam), oak (Eve) on limestone base

Adam and Eve is a wooden sculpture by Brancusi on a limestone base. 

"Adam" is the sculpture on the bottom, made out of chestnut, while "Eve" is the one on the top, made out of oak. Although both are made of the same material, wood, and are quite similar in terms of their warm, reddish colour, looking uniform and complementary when put together, Brancusi's choice in using two different types of wood can be taken as a method of making distinctions between Adam and Eve respectively. Oak, which is used for Eve, has a much smoother wood grain and has a more polished shine, which is closer in appearance to a woman's smooth and flawless skin. On the other hand, Adam is constructed out of chestnut, with a rougher and raw texture, seemingly suggestive of men's rough, aggressive and rugged nature. 

The forms of Adam and Eve also differ from one another to set the two apart. Eve has 4 half-spherical orbs at the top, which appears to be the form of a head, with the suggestion of the sensual curve of lips and a mouth. Extending downwards from Eve's head is a long, thin cylinder, which evokes the impression of a graceful slender female neck, and at the bottom, there are two round orbs, which could suggest full breasts. The smooth, rounded curvaceous form of Eve creates the suggestion of a sensuous feminine form. 

In contrast, Adam is stouter and of a heavier, denser build than his feminine counterpart. Whereas Eve is rounded and curvaceous, Adam is more blocky and angular, with more hard angles and edges, as seen from the large square head and rectangular body, hinting at its masculinity and harsh, hard-edged aggression. The cuboid form at the bottom of Adam seems to resemble its body, and the carved jagged edges is almost reminiscent of a built, muscular chest, highlighting the idea of strength and masculinity. While Eve is small and slender, Adam is larger in size, as can be seen evidently from the difference between the necks of the two sculptures - Eve's elongated, narrow cylinder looks delicate, beautiful and elegant, while Adam's neck is wider in circumference and cleft with grooved lines, appearing more muscular and forceful. Indeed, the placement of Adam below Eve seems to suggest how Adam, the weightier and denser structure of the two, is the stronger of the two, and is holding the more delicate and light-weight Eve up. This also conforms to traditional ideals of how the man was the one who was expected to fulfil the role as the supporter of the female, being the stronger sex.

Although the sculpture consists of two entities, Adam and Eve, which were created separately, when put together, the artwork in its totality looks like a single, unified unit, emphasising the ideas of the reuniting of two opposites - the masculine and the feminine, as embodied by the symbolic Adam and Eve, the biblical original man and woman. The deliberate arrangement of the two pieces, one on top of the other, seemingly seamlessly fused together, can be seen to be somewhat suggestive in nature, with the underlying meaning of sexual union, a possible allusion to the succumbing to sexual temptation of Adam and Eve in the biblical allegory.

The base itself is a simple square limestone block. Raw and unpolished, and a distinctively yellow, earthy tone, the rock seems to allude to how Adam had been born from the dust and earth, thus being a vital connection that grounds the sculpture. The specific arrangement of the sculpture also tells a story of their origins - Adam was born from the earth (and thus is closest to the ground and physically in contact with the earth, as symbolised by the limestone base), while Eve was created from Adam's rib, and is thus growing out and connected to Adam. The use of raw natural materials like limestone (hewn from the earth) and wood (from trees) for this sculpture not only seems to hint at the organic origins of Man, but also helps to harmonise the piece as a whole to look like one seamless entity when viewed in its entirety.