Birth of Eve
Oil on Belgian Linen, 48" x 40"
The painting portrays the cycle of a woman’s life. Mary and Eve are in the center as being one and the same. They represent the life experiences of women: from the innocence of birth and childhood to the first encounter of knowledge as a young woman (the awakening of knowledge in oneself), to motherhood and providing care for others. Eve’s children, as represented by the cherubs, encompass all shades of the African diaspora.
Rosales’s re-imagination of Peter Paul Rubens’s and Jan Brueghel the Elder’s Virgin and Child in a Flower Garland with Angels (ca. 1616/18) speaks also to the artist’s dedication and incredible skills in painting realistic figures, as well as flora and fauna, fabrics and jewelry, herself. Such high-level work generally necessitated two or more specialists for one collaborative piece.
