An Exploration of Myth, Folktale & Feminine Archetypes in Art History - Goddesses, Demons and Warriors. Date 28th August 2025
Join Art History & Contextual lecturer Deborah Máire for a captivating lecture series that journeys through the symbolic terrain of myth, folktale, and the feminine in art history. Drawing on centuries of visual culture, from ancient goddesses etched in stone to the allegorical women of Renaissance
A lecture journeying through the layered myths and evolving symbols of Lilith—a figure who has haunted the margins of culture, scripture, and imagination for centuries. From ancient demonology to Jewish folklore, Romantic art to feminist reimaginings, Lilith emerges as both a monster and a muse, a symbol of unbridled female autonomy, sexuality, rage, and exile.
Who was Lilith?
Was she Adam’s first wife, cast out for refusing to submit? A winged night demon, feared in childbirth and shadowed corners? Or is she a cipher, a space upon which centuries of artists and thinkers have projected their anxieties, fascinations, and desires?
This series of lectures draws on folktales, visual art, esoteric writings, and the biographies of artists and muses who have embodied her spirit. Paintings by the Pre-Raphaelites, modern surrealist works, feminist reinterpretations, and contemporary installations invite us to question how Lilith has been depicted, suppressed, and reclaimed across eras.
Through this lens, we also examine the lives of women who served as models and muses, figures often romanticised, sexualised, and silenced in the artistic process, revealing how their lives often mirrored Lilith’s tale of power, erasure, and rebellion. Will be streamed live for those online.
Image by ALEJANDRA SINCLAIR
Lilith 1887 painting by English artist John Collier
An Exploration of Myth, Folktale & Feminine Archetypes in Art History - Goddesses, Demons and Warriors. Date 28th August 2025
Join Art History & Contextual lecturer Deborah Máire for a captivating lecture series that journeys through the symbolic terrain of myth, folktale, and the feminine in art history. Drawing on centuries of visual culture, from ancient goddesses etched in stone to the allegorical women of Renaissance
A lecture journeying through the layered myths and evolving symbols of Lilith—a figure who has haunted the margins of culture, scripture, and imagination for centuries. From ancient demonology to Jewish folklore, Romantic art to feminist reimaginings, Lilith emerges as both a monster and a muse, a symbol of unbridled female autonomy, sexuality, rage, and exile.
Who was Lilith?
Was she Adam’s first wife, cast out for refusing to submit? A winged night demon, feared in childbirth and shadowed corners? Or is she a cipher, a space upon which centuries of artists and thinkers have projected their anxieties, fascinations, and desires?
This series of lectures draws on folktales, visual art, esoteric writings, and the biographies of artists and muses who have embodied her spirit. Paintings by the Pre-Raphaelites, modern surrealist works, feminist reinterpretations, and contemporary installations invite us to question how Lilith has been depicted, suppressed, and reclaimed across eras.
Through this lens, we also examine the lives of women who served as models and muses, figures often romanticised, sexualised, and silenced in the artistic process, revealing how their lives often mirrored Lilith’s tale of power, erasure, and rebellion. Will be streamed live for those online.
Image by ALEJANDRA SINCLAIR
Lilith 1887 painting by English artist John Collier
