The pentimento in Adam's right leg and the general liveliness of this scene somewhat obscure the fact that this drawing is probably not so much a first sketch as a later stage of the development of the composition. A certain evenness in the outlines of the torsos and legs may even point to the drawing being partly traced from a preliminary sketch (or sketches), which could help to explain the rather awkward position of Adam's right arm and the spatially unclear rendering of his slung leg. In spite of these weaknesses, Gossaert succeeded in creating one of his most appealing drawings, which must have appeared startlingly new to Netherlandish viewers at the time. Adam and Eve are not so much presented as Old Testament figures but as sensual lovers who would not be miscast in a mythological or secular story. Bearing the artist's monogram IMB, for "Iohannes Malbodius" (John of Mabuse, in Latin), this sheet is the primary touchstone for Gossaert's drawing style from the second half of his career. (http://www.metmuseum.org)