Erotic Art 2021
Erotic art in Pompeii and Herculaneum has been both exhibited as art and censored as pornography. The Roman cities around the bay of Naples were destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD, thereby preserving their buildings and artefacts until extensive archaeological excavations began in the 18th century. These digs revealed the cities to be rich in erotic artefacts such as statues, frescoes, and household items decorated with sexual themes. The ubiquity of such imagery and items indicates that the treatment of sexuality in ancient Rome was more relaxed than current Western culture. However, much of what might strike modern viewers as erotic imagery, such as oversized phalluses, could arguably be fertility imagery. Depictions of the phallus, for example, could be used in gardens to encourage the production of fertile plants. This clash of cultures led to many erotic artefacts from Pompeii being locked away from the public for nearly 200 years.
erotic art
In 1819, when King Francis I of Naples visited the Pompeii exhibition at the Naples National Archaeological Museum with his wife and daughter, he was embarrassed by the erotic artwork and ordered it to be locked away in a "secret cabinet", accessible only to "people of mature age and respected morals". Re-opened, closed, re-opened again and then closed again for nearly 100 years, the Secret Museum, Naples was briefly made accessible at the end of the 1960s (the time of the sexual revolution) and was finally re-opened for viewing in 2000. Minors are still only allowed entry to the once-secret cabinet in the presence of a guardian, or with written permission.
The phallus (the erect penis), whether on Pan, Priapus or a similar deity, or on its own, was a common image. It was not seen as threatening or even necessarily erotic, but as a ward against the evil eye.[1][2] The phallus was sculpted in bronze as tintinnabula (wind chimes). Phallus-animals were common household items. Note the child on one of the wind chimes.[clarification needed]
This statuette of Priapus in the House of the Vettii in Pompeii is from a small cubicle leading off from the kitchen. It is thought the statue used to be placed in the garden and was used as a fountain. A hole runs through its phallus allowing it to spurt like a fountain. Also in this room where the statue was located were erotic paintings.
It is unclear whether the images on the walls were advertisements for the services offered or merely intended to heighten the pleasure of the visitors. As previously mentioned, some of the paintings and frescoes became immediately famous because they represented erotic, sometimes explicit, sexual scenes.
One of the most curious buildings recovered was in fact a Lupanar (brothel), which had many erotic paintings and graffiti inside. The erotic paintings seem to present an idealised vision of sex at odds with the reality of the function of the lupanar. The Lupanare had 10 rooms (cubicula, 5 per floor), a balcony, and a latrina. It was not the only brothel. The town seems to have been oriented to a warm consideration of sensual matters: on a wall of the Basilica (sort of a civil tribunal, thus frequented by many Roman tourists and travelers), an immortal inscription tells the foreigner: If anyone is looking for some tender love in this town, keep in mind that here all the girls are very friendly (loose translation). Other inscriptions reveal some pricing information for various services: Athenais 2 As, Sabina 2 As (CIL IV, 4150), The house slave Logas, 8 As (CIL IV, 5203) or Maritimus licks your vulva for 4 As. He is ready to serve virgins as well. (CIL IV, 8940). The amounts vary from one to two asses up to several sesterces. In the lower price range the service was not more expensive than a loaf of bread.
Venus was the divine protector of Pompeii, and featured in many frescoes around the city.[7] The goddess of love, sex, and fertility, Venus was closely associated with eroticism and prostitution in ancient Rome.[8] The mural of Venus from Pompeii was never seen by Botticelli, the painter of The Birth of Venus, but may have been a Roman copy of the then famous painting by Apelles which Lucian mentioned.
The discovery of such explicitly sexual pieces stunned archeologists, who had always assumed that ancient Rome was a morally upright society. Indeed, the belief that the Roman Empire fell as a result of moral depravity grew out of the discoveries of erotic art of Pompeii and Herculaneum, yet experts were puzzled that minimal evidence of a sex trade had been found in excavations of the Roman capital. The answer to this puzzle lies with the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79. History tell us that Caligula, the third Roman Emperor, imposed a tax on prostitution in AD 40. He essentially made sex a state sanctioned business and even installed a brothel in the palace. No less depraved, Nero, who became the fifth Roman Emperor 14 years later, arranged orgies for members of the aristocracy. Smaller towns such as Pompeii and Herculaneum followed suit, mimicking society in the capital. Roman mores began to shift in AD 69, when the more conservative Vespasian rose to power but his influence was just beginning to have an effect when the volcano blew its top. Pompeii, with its 41 brothels and scores of establishments where the sex trade thrived (public baths, theaters, tabernas, and private sex clubs), was frozen in time, while the parts of the Roman Empire unaffected by the eruption evolved into a more moderate society.
The assemblage of erotic art remained locked away for most of the next 173 years, emerging for about a year in 1848, again in 1860 after Garibaldi defeated the Bourbons, and briefly in 1976 before it was closed for restoration. The collection languished behind locked doors until 2000, when the Secret Cabinet was finally re-opened to the general public. Viewing that was once restricted to adult men of high moral character is now open for all to see, at least those over 14 years of age. Many of the frescoes are faded and hard to see clearly in the darkened room, but even in poor lighting the subject matter is graphic, wildly sensual, and slightly disturbing, but none so much as the statue of Pan copulating with a goat.
I went to Herculaneum and was surprised at the baths with erotic tiles but this amount shows why the legions had plenty of young men . The Legions were renowned for their off spring across the empire. Just a sign of the times I guess.
All artists 18 years old or older (as of January 15th, 2023) are encouraged to submit original works for consideration.The Festival accepts visual art of all mediums, erotic writings, interactive art, and performance proposals from artists across the nation and all the world; there is no submission fee for artists living outside of North America.Artists may submit for as many Call for Art categories as they wish, but note that each Call for Art has distinct requirements and may have additional submission fees.
The Seattle Erotic art Festival is an experience unlike any other festival or gallery you have likely ever attended. Over the course of three days, a curated selection of some of the finest erotic art the world has to offer will grace the floors of the Seattle Center's Exhibition Hall, awaiting your perusal and enjoyment.
In the Erotic Movement Lab at SEAF, we believe that people shouldn't just view erotic art, they should bear witness to themselves AS erotic art. We believe that self-expression is sexy and pleasure is your birthright. We believe in giving you the space to experiment, play, and explore the canvas that is your body. Join us for a day of movement-based workshops where YOU become the artpiece. These workshops are geared for anyone who wants to experiment with sensual movement. Beginners welcome.
The Erotic Movement Lab at SEAF workshops are curated as a full journey into sensual movement and body play, deepening your understanding and appreciation of the eroticism of your body.
In the words of almighty queen Audre Lorde: "The erotic is a measure between the beginnings of our sense of self and the chaos of our strongest feelings. It is an internal sense of satisfaction to which, once we have experienced it, we know we can aspire."
In fact, the very first artistic venture of all time just may have been a tribute to eroticism's all-consuming force -- a simple cave drawing of a vulva, to be precise. How does one navigate from said minimalist genitalia to the more recognizable erotic artworks of folks like Egon Schiele and Gustav Courbet? You came to the right place.
Today we're examining art history's raciest nooks and crannies, from 32,000 B.C. to the early 20th century. Be warned, this tour is not for the prudish -- or those on a work computer. For the rest of you, please enjoy our NSFW glimpse at the eternal love affair between eroticism and art.
Around 37,000 years ago, in Southern France's rock shelter Abri Castanet, one bold (or very bored) artist dared go where no prehistoric creative had ventured before. With care and precision, he or she carved into the rock a lone vulva. Not only is this vision of prehistoric vagina the earliest erotic artwork known to date, it may also be the oldest cave engraving, period, proving once and for all that artists love their nudes.
Turns out Ancient Egypt was home to the world's first naughty men's magazine. Measuring in at 8.5 feet, a massive papyrus scroll, dubbed The Turin Erotic Papyrus, features 12 erotic vignettes and a variety of sexual positions. The 1150 B.C. issue centerfold features an orgy of horny pharaohs.
Also all the rage in Ancient Greece was pederasty, an erotic relationship between an adult male and a teen boy. At the time, Greek culture was saturated with images of such relationships, often realized via Attic vases. Somewhat strangely, the boy's genitals are rarely depicted with an erection, even when being fondled, and penetrative sex is never depicted, only intercrural. 041b061a72
