The Fallen Angel of Lust

This is the first entry in a series of seven photo-manipulated graphics I created a while back that I called "The Fallen Angels of Sin." The seven deadly sins, also known as the capital vices or cardinal sins, is a grouping and classification of vices within Christian teachings, though they are more emphasized within Roman Catholicism. Behaviors or habits are classified under this category if they directly give rise to other immoralities. Lust or lechery (luxuria in Latin), is intense longing. It is usually thought of as intense or unbridled sexual desire, which may lead to fornication including adultery, rape, bestiality, and other sinful sexual acts. However, lust can also refer to other forms of unbridled desire, such as a lust for money or power. In Inferno, Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) defined lust as the disordered love for individuals. It is generally thought to be the least serious of the capital sins, as it is an abuse of a faculty that humans share with animals and sins of the flesh are less grievous than spiritual sins. The fictional version of Hell in Dante's Inferno has the unforgiven souls guilty of lust being eternally blown about in restless tempest-like winds symbolic of their own lack of self-control of their lustful passions in earthly life. I chose to illustrate my 'Seven Deadly Sins' series by selecting stock photos of beautiful women wearing stunning formal dresses because I felt that the beauty of both the women and the gowns could serve as an allegory illustrating the fact that sin always appears to be deceptively wonderful, beautiful, or fun on the outside, but rots the soul once it has been indulged in. This artwork was created using stock photos that I purchased from Adobe Stock and downloaded with permission from various stock artists on deviantART. I have since left that site in favor of this one.