Year 2000
Oil on board
180 x 120 cm

Sitting on the edge of an old bathtub from the 19th century, a self-absorbed young woman modestly covers her naked body with a towel.

In the background, in the right-hand corner, a delicious Monstera, popularly known as Adam’s rib, symbolises the masculine. This beautiful plant from Mexico is widely used to decorate the patios and interiors of Sevillian houses.

The city of Seville’s monopoly on the commercial route with America from the 16th century to the 18th century, when the Casa de Contratación was established in Cadiz in 1717, led to a rich cultural exchange on board the Spanish galleons that arrived on the Guadalquivir from Veracruz in the Gulf of Mexico. 

On the floor, scattered petals and three roses symbolise the youth and innocence that adorn the model’s true name and gave this work its title.

© María José Aguilar