Reunited Masterworks Randall Decoteau From Adam & Eve to George & Martha I n 2003 a virtually unknown painting of Adam by Hendrick Goltzius was discovered in a French auction. Six years later, The Wadsworth Atheneum is showing this painting alongside its original companion, Eve. Appropriately, the exhibit opens on Feb. 14, St. Valentine’s Day. The museum’s collection contains many works like the painting of Adam that were originally “pendants” (i.e. painted to hang as a pair, see sidebar), but which became separated at some point in the hundreds of years since their creation. Discovering the lost companions has been a labor of love for Dr. Eric Zafran, the Wadsworth’s Curator of European Art. The result of Zafran’s researches is Reunited Masterworks, an exhibition that presents some much-loved paintings from the Wadsworth’s permanent collection along with their long-lost mates. Each painting is exceptional in its own right, but it gains an extra dimension of richness when shown as the artist intended. Adam and Eve by Hendrick Goltius. Oil on panels, c. 1611. Adam, 29 1/2 x 24 in. [framed]. Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford, Conn.; The Ella Gallup Sumner and Mary Catlin Sumner Collection Fund. Eve, 20 x 15 in. Musées de la Ville de Strasbourg, France. Seeing the pair together brings out the intensity of the subject. Eve holds an apple suggesting the fall of man, sin, temptation, and the apple itself is a perfect foil for her equally beautiful exposed breast. Adam holds a branch of hawthorn, eluding to the medieval legend that Christ’s crown of thorns was made of hawthorn. The branch is a symbol of man’s suffering and redemption. Goltzius was a brilliant painter who loved color. Because these paintings are painted on panels, they have retained strong color. Page 20 ■ Antiques Journal ■ February 2010