Delilah is remembered as the woman who betrayed Samson, leading to the loss of his strength and his capture by the Philistines. But we never hear her side of the story.
What happened between them? What changed? Why was she willing to accept a bribe to betray him? Was it an act of revenge, survival, or simply a way of ending a relationship that had become complicated and destructive? And why did Samson continue to return to her despite what had happened before?
We can only speculate. What we do know is that there was once love between them.
In Before the Betrayal, I imagine the tenderness of that beginning—the intimacy, desire, and possibility that can exist before a relationship takes a darker turn. The painting is a celebration of beautiful beginnings, and a reminder that even relationships we eventually understand as toxic may have once contained genuine love, hope, and joy.
Delilah is remembered as the woman who betrayed Samson, leading to the loss of his strength and his capture by the Philistines. But we never hear her side of the story.
What happened between them? What changed? Why was she willing to accept a bribe to betray him? Was it an act of revenge, survival, or simply a way of ending a relationship that had become complicated and destructive? And why did Samson continue to return to her despite what had happened before?
We can only speculate. What we do know is that there was once love between them.
In Before the Betrayal, I imagine the tenderness of that beginning—the intimacy, desire, and possibility that can exist before a relationship takes a darker turn. The painting is a celebration of beautiful beginnings, and a reminder that even relationships we eventually understand as toxic may have once contained genuine love, hope, and joy.