‘and The First Ray Of Sunrise Will Wake My Sleeping Soul’ 

Tania Rivilis painted ‘and The First Ray Of Sunrise Will Wake My Sleeping Soul’ using oil on canvas. The figure’s reclining pose with foliage woven around the body evokes classical depictions of mythological figures like Endymion or Dionysus. It may also be read as a commentary on contemporary attitudes toward the body and the self. Note the figure’s androgynous features, and the way that its purple, almost bruised skin tones contrast against a vivid red backdrop. Are we looking at a representation of vitality, or vulnerability? As art historians, we can look to a wide variety of sources to better understand the painting: from the artist's statements about their influences to the philosophical literature on queer identity, as well as the changing institutional role of figurative painting in the early twenty-first century. Doing so will allow us to better understand the painting’s possible meanings.