Skip to main content
Advanced Search
This image is for study only, and may not accurately represent the object’s true color or scale…
Eve at the Fountain, from John Milton's Paradise Lost, Book 4, line 453
This image is for study only, and may not accurately represent the object’s true color or scale…
This image is for study only, and may not accurately represent the object’s true color or scale. It should not be shared or reproduced without permission by the copyright holder.

Eve at the Fountain, from John Milton's Paradise Lost, Book 4, line 453

Primary (Haydon Bridge, Northumberland, England, 1789–Douglas, Isle of Man, 1854)
NationalityEnglish, Europe
Date1824-1825
MediumMezzotint, etching, and drypoint with rocker
DimensionsSheet: 10 7/8 × 14 3/4 in. (27.7 × 37.4 cm)
Additional Dimension: 10 1/16 × 14 in. (25.6 × 35.6 cm)
Credit LineBlanton Museum of Art, The University of Texas at Austin, Purchase through the generosity of the Still Water Foundation, 1996.264
Collection AreaPrints and Drawings
Object number1996.264
On View
Not on view
Label Text
In an idyllic grove dotted with palms and pine trees, Eve hesitates at the edge of a clear pool, testing the water. Surprised . . . at what? A reflection is scarcely visible. Rather than reflecting the sky, the pond is depicted as a black abyss with Eve perched at its edge. After her initial shock at the reflection, Eve is so pleased that she soon returns. Could it be that this “taste” of the abyss precipitates her sin? Or perhaps Martin is hinting at the shock and shame that Eve, along with Adam, will endure.
Exhibitions