Erotic art from 1800

Contrary to first impressions, the painting is actually made up of three wooden slats — two of which are painted on both sides, the third just on one — all slid into the frame in such a way as to show only the pink and white roses to the world. The other much naughtier scenes must be actively uncovered by those in the know. Why the innocent-looking still life of fruit? Possibilities of symbolism aside, it is most likely simply to add another layer of security, should someone accidentally lift the first slat. Privacy Policy More info.

An example of a work not radical in its time but seen as too explicit for later audiences, The Warren Cup was most likely proudly displayed in a Roman home, but then was considered too deviant for audiences right until the s. Depicting a Greco-Roman practice called pederasty, where young men would take older men as mentors and sexual partners, the what would later be considered homosexual acts depicted on the cup were hidden from public display for centuries before their exhibition, after which they inspired countless gay artists and writers into more radical artworks. The story of the seduction of Leda by Zeus disguised as a swan is filled with erotic potential, so its no wonder it has been attempted by so many, from Michelangelo though his version is sadly lost to Cezanne. An almost cartoon-like portrait of a monk breaking his vows, it looks more at home on a pier-front postcard than a work from a burin of an Old Master. A make-money-quick scheme made during a period of financial turmoil, this image aimed to appeal to the base instincts of a lower class clientele, who could afford an etching but not a painting. To this day, these etchings remain a relative secret, although their frank depiction of unglamorised sex would find followers well into the 21st century.

One of the most intriguing games that poets and dreamers play with time and a sense of the self is picking a period from out of the past in which they would like to have lived. Suppose we turn this around to ask which artists or writers from out of the past would, out of all time up to the present, most want to be alive now. Thomas Rowlandson was roundly, resonantly alive. His art reveals an immense affirmation of life. And it is such vitality more than any other single quality which suggests that--if he had his choice--Rowlandson might very well want to be one of us.

Since the beginning of civilization, humans have incorporated sexuality into erotic art, worship, and daily life. There have been cultures and times were explicit references to sexuality were more accepted by societal norms, and times when there have not. However, the repressive view of sexuality espoused by the Church in the Middle Ages, and then the repressed sexuality of the Victorian era have left many in the Western world believing that few if any in the past were willing and able to accept and even revel in their sexuality.