John Collier, a representative of the Pre-Raphaelites, created the painting of Lilith in 1887, depicting her as a seductive and sensual woman with a snake.

Lilith has had many faces throughout history. Originally, she was worshiped as a Sumerian goddess, who lived with the Snake and the Anzu bird tribe of the World Tree. At the command of the goddess Inana, the tree was split and Lilith fled to an unknown area.

In Aramaic legends and incantations, the name Lilith appears as a term for demons that haunt man at night and have been held responsible for the sudden infantile death. While the biblical translation of Martin Luther seeks the name Lilith in vain, it is described in other Bible translations that the home of Lilith is the desert.

The modern emancipation has chosen Lilith as a symbol for the independence of the woman. It represents the counterpart to Eve, who submits to patriarchal rule. The roots are in the Jewish-emancipatory theology. Lilith is the learned strong woman who, unlike Eve, resists the temptations of the devil and defies the rule of Adam, the man. As the first woman of Adam, according to another tradition, she has led God to betray his holy name. She asked for wings from God and flew away.

In his painting, Collier focuses on the demonic side of Lilith as a sensual and seductive woman and symbol of sexuality. Compositionally as well, apart from Lilith, everything else stays in the shade. Through the serpent, with whom she lives in harmony, Lilith is staged as an antithesis to Eve and as an ally of the dark side. This is her fate in the modern media world, where she usually takes on the role of evil.

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Lilith by John Collier. Available as an art print on canvas, photo paper, watercolor board, uncoated paper or Japanese paper.
nude · female · snake · long hair · pre-raphaelite · pre raphaelite · full length · femme fatale · serpent · evil · seductive · alluring · coiling · embracing · temptress · caressing · sensual · erotic · tresses · tangled · lascivious · lust · first woman · nudity · nudes · naked · Atkinson Art Gallery, Southport, Lancashire, UK / Bridgeman Images