
Daria Khristova nee Chernenko
Department Director
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Department Director
Provenance
Artist's Collection
Art Gallery Noblesse
According to Sumerian mythology, Inanna, the goddess of love, sensuality, fertility, and also of war, chose to visit her sister Ereshkigal, the queen of the underworld. She soon learned that the underworld had strict laws: to pass through each gate, she must relinquish an item of power. By the time she reached the throne room of Ereshkigal, she would stand naked and powerless, unable to resist her own execution.
The artwork depicts the scene of Inanna standing at the first gate. Though still adorned in rich garments and jewellery, this act marks the start of her transformation from a powerful goddess to a vulnerable figure stripped of divine protection. The painting captures not just a physical action but the myth's deeper themes of power and transformation, setting the stage for one of the oldest resurrection myths in human history.