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Woman of Babylon. 1820s – early 1830s
Unknown Artist
Painted chisel etching
И.: 34,5 х 49,5; л.: 43,5 х 65; д.: 35,6 х 51
State Russian Museum
Annotation
This subject was used in luboks from the first half of the 17th century. The image is based on the text of chapter 17 of Revelations: the apocalyptic vision of the Harlot. In the lubok, the robes of the horsewoman transform into immodest foreign clothing. This is not only a matter of the exact copying of a European original by a Russian artist. Folk tradition long associated much unhappiness with the introduction of foreign unorthodox customs into normal behavior. In Relevations, the Harlot embodies Babylon – a city that accommodates all the evils of mankind. In the lubok, Babylon is depicted in the form of fortress walls. At the gates, the horsewoman is met by seven earthly kings who give themselves and their kingdoms to the power of vice.