Franz von Stuck (German, 1863-1928)

The present work is one of several pictures by Stuck depicting a nude woman intertwined with a serpent, entitled variously 'Sin', 'Vice' or 'Sensuality'. The symbolism harks back most obviously to Eve, but is somewhat different to traditional representations of the motif in so far that she is linked inextricably -- physically and metaphorically -- to the serpent. The woman thus takes on the satanic attributes traditionally ascribed in Genesis to the snake -- sensuality and seduction -- and becomes the embodiment of the femme fatale. There is further a sexual element to these paintings, most obviously in the phallic symbolism of the serpent, and the knowing gaze of the woman, looking out towards the viewer.