Lady Lilith

"Lady Lilith" by Dante Gabriel Rossetti is a striking oil painting created between 1866–1868, initially modeled on his mistress Fanny Cornforth, with a later alteration in 1872–73 to depict Alexa Wilding’s face. The work portrays Lilith as a powerful, amazon-like female, embodying the mythic seductress associated with temptation and darkness. Rossetti’s use of rich, gouache and watercolor techniques evoke a sense of mystique, reminiscent of religious painting traditions fused with Romanticism. The painting’s provocative subject and vivid imagery encapsulate themes of temptation, danger, and forbidden allure.