DepartmentHispano
Adán y Eva Moribundos, Padres de la Humanidad
NameBulto
Artist
Carlos José Otero
CultureHispano
Date2000
Place madeAlbuquerque, New Mexico, United States, North America
Mediumcottonwood, natural gesso, natural pigments, piñon sap varnish, natural beeswax
Dimensions86" x 26" x 26"
Credit LineMuseum of International Folk Art, Gift of Joan Myers and Bernie Lopez, A.2022.54.1
Object numberA.2022.54.1
ProvenancePurchased directly from artist, Spanish Market, 2000
DescriptionIn this large-scale bulto, Otero depicted the Fall of Adam and Eve, as Adam raises Eve to pick the forbidden fruit. The snake entwined around the apple tree has the face of the artist himself. Otero was dedicated to traditional materials and techniques. He used cottonwood, and would gather and grind his own pigments from nature. He made his own gesso from gypsum and rabbit hide glue, and use piñon tree sap mixed with 100% grain alcohol for his varnish. He identified the colors of this Adam and Eve sculpture in this way:Browns from Ochre & Walnut Husks
Reds from Jemez [soil or rocks?] & Cochineal
Blues from Azurite Mineral & Indigo
Yellows from Chamisa & Ochre
Black from Bone Ash & Ocote Pitch
Greens from Placitas
Flesh Tones from Ochre, Browns & Yellows
1980s
c. 1985
