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Adam, 1951-52
Oil on canvas
support: 2429 x 2029 mm
Oil on canvas
support: 2429 x 2029 mm
Tate Gallery, London
The name Adam, which in the Old Testament was given to the first man, derives from the Hebrew word adamah (earth), but is also close to adom, (red) and dam (blood). The relationship between brown and red in this painting may therefore symbolise man's intimacy with the earth.