George Frederic WattsEve Repentant c.1865-97

Watts called these three paintings The Eve Trilogy. They represent Eve’s ascension to life, her temptation and her grief after her downfall. In her temptation she is shown greedily entwined with the apple tree. The dissolving forms of the central work correspond to the idea of Eve rising up in an explosion of light and colour. By contrast, the heaviness of flesh in the final work suggests her burden of sin and guilt.