Rose Wylie

Two figures anchor this composition: the golden statue guarded by owls at the left and the tall, slim model at the right, whose cool gaze is only partially visible. Horizontal lettering connects these two vertical axes.

Once more, Rose Wylie has combined images from various sources. The statue is based on a Babylonian sculpture at the British Museum in London, where Wylie drew it. Later, her research revealed that the sculpture has also been interpreted as a representation of Lilith. In Judaism, there is a legend that Adam had a wife named Lilith before Eve, who was made from his rib. Like Adam, Lilith was created from the earth and was therefore his equal. She did not want to submit to Adam, so she left him. In the 1960s, Lilith became an icon of the Jewish women’s movement and was celebrated as the first feminist. To devise a compelling composition, Wylie chose a photograph of a model walking in a Gucci fashion show as a counterpart to Lilith. In doing so, she reflects upon our visual culture and juxtaposes an antique sculpture from the realm of high art with a contemporary pop culture icon.