The themes of the Fall of Man and the Dance of Death can be seen in this work, influenced by the Protestant Reformation and Renaissance humanism. This painting is evocative and erotic. Lust and death are linked, as an seductive Eve, apple in hand, grasps the tail of the serpent while casting a veiled glance at a fallen Adam, who, in a decomposed state, has been transformed into the figure of Death. Baldung, a Northern Renaissance artist, produced several memento mori in painting and print, incorporating both secular and religious iconography.