Deva 

Michael Parkes' painting presents us with a tableau of myth and mystery. The woman, the big cats, the architectural setting, the dragonfly, and the lotus blossoms – all are visual codes that create meaning through cultural references and historical associations. Parkes was born in 1944, and while he is American, he has spent much of his life living in Europe. His art cannot be separated from the cultural milieu in which it was made. His art self-consciously addresses the social structures of its time, critiquing the institutions of art. To interpret this artwork, we can use the resources of the historian, considering how religion, historical events, social class, political movements, or economic structures might have influenced it. Art historians understand the meaning of art as something contingent on social and institutional context.