Eve and the Serpent

Within the Ackland Museum, there were various interesting collections. The one that called most to my attention was that of Eve and the Serpent (1988) by Rose Piper. The painting depicts the fall of man from the Bible in the eyes of the artist. There were various notable intertextual references between the original texts in which the painting was influenced by.

The story of the fall of man has to do with Satan (disguised as a deceitful serpent) approaching Eve (the first woman in existence) and convincing her to do wrong against God by disobeying the only rule set in place. In the painting, the serpent does not convey a deceitful or mischevious charater, but rather a more friendly and suductive personality. I derived this from the wink in which he sends miss’ Eve’s way, which is actually an appropriation recognized in the title of the art work from a well known American folk song named “Dem Bones.” So rather than pressuring, the snake is just more so coercive, not even carrying the apple in his mouth and handing it to Eve as many paintings convey. The original text relays that Eve chooses to pluck the apple from the tree on her own.

The detail and accuracy reenacted from the painting to the original story are quite interesting and amazing to see in the brought to life with vivid colors and even the incorporations of ideas from other work.