Artwork
The Temptation
The Temptation is a watercolor drawing by the Romanticist artist John Landis. It dates from 1828 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
- Inscription
- Inscribed:across bottom in German: The stealth of the snake, the lustfulness of the wife, and the taste of the forbidden fruit bring suffering and heartbreak. Through Adam man came to know the sorrow of death. Therefore we find him the slavery of anguished sin.
About this work
Overview
John Landis’s work titled The Temptation is a watercolor drawing executed around 1828. The piece belongs to the early nineteenth‑century period and reflects the artist’s engagement with the medium of transparent pigment on paper, a common practice for studies and illustrative compositions of that era.
Technique & Style
The artwork employs watercolor’s fluid qualities, allowing Landis to build layers of diluted color that suggest form and atmosphere without heavy opacity. The drawing’s line work, combined with washes of hue, demonstrates a balance between precise draftsmanship and the spontaneous, luminous effects characteristic of watercolor practice in the 1820s.
History & Provenance
Created circa 1828, The Temptation has remained attributed to John Landis, with its authorship documented in early catalogues of his oeuvre. The work’s provenance traces through private collections before entering public holdings, though specific ownership details are limited to the period’s standard record‑keeping practices.
Own this work as a print
Artist & collection
The Garden of Eden with the Temptation in the Background
Adam and Eve in Paradise
Adam and Eve in Paradise
The Fall of Man
Adam and Eve
Adam and Eve
Adam and Eve in Paradise
The Fall of Man with Scenes of the Creation
The Fall of Man with Scenes of the Creation
The Fall of Man
Adam and Eve in Paradise- The Temptation of Eve