The Fallen Angel of Pride

This is the third 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. Pride (superbia in Latin) is considered, on almost every list, the original and most serious of the seven deadly sins. Out of the seven, it is the most angelical or demonic. It is also thought to be the source of the other capital sins. Also known as hubris (from Ancient Greek), it is identified as dangerously corrupt selfishness or the putting of one's own desires, urges, wants, and whims before the welfare of other people. In even more destructive cases, it is irrationally believing that one is essentially and necessarily better, superior, or more important than others, failing to acknowledge the accomplishments of others, and excessive admiration of the personal image or self (especially forgetting one's own lack of divinity and refusing to acknowledge one's own limits, faults, or wrongs as a human being). Dante's definition of pride was "love of self perverted to hatred and contempt for one's neighbor" and in Purgatorio, those guilty of pride are burdened with stone slabs on their necks to keep their heads perpetually bowed in humility. 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. Peacock feathers are a symbol of this sin. 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.