Volume 45, Number 7 · April 23, 1998
In the Giving Vein
By Ernst Gombrich
Largesse
by Jean Starobinski, translated by Jane Marie Todd
University of Chicago Press, 211 pp., $29.95 (paper)
The cover of this sumptuous publication is graced with the enlarged reproduction of a ravishing drawing by Correggio, representing the naked Eve holding an apple in her left hand, and apparently looking seductively at the beholder. We are entitled to assume that the image was chosen to illustrate Largesse—the ostensible theme of the volume—a term which signifies generosity and, in a more technical context, the ceremonial scattering of gifts expected from a king or prince on festive occasions. Accordingly, the corres-ponding first illustration of the book carries the caption 'Eve Offering the Apple.' But if we refuse to be seduced we cannot help remembering that Eve was not particularly generous in offering the forbidden fruit to Adam, thus making him an accomplice to her crime.
Review, 2317 words
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