Sexual fantasia on canvas
Literature featuring elaborate sexual fantasies coincided with the French Revolution and influenced the art of the period
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The art of the … orgasm
Images of female ecstasy in art can be traced back to the Ancient Greek medical theory that the female orgasm, as well as male, was essential for conception.
Enamoured with his own reflection
Poussin had a particular fondness for Narcissus who was punished for his pride by being doomed to fall in love with himself.
Dissolving her chains
A masochistic sensibility and themes of bondage are obvious in the art of the great painter Rubens.
Should the NGA pay $14m for this sculpture?
Lindy Lee is a respectable artist but is $14m too much to pay for her work, or anyone else’s, especially when considered against other priorities.
Michelangelo’s ‘perverse’ idea
Michelangelo’s bold idea for the Sistine Chapel had dynamic effects on the art world.
The master behind the sex and death scandal
Too much has been written about Caravaggio by authors attracted to the sensational details of his life but naive about his work and methods.
The STD that changed the art world
Europe and art history, from the Mannerist period onwards, were never the same after the first outbreak of syphilis in Naples in 1494.
Unearthing Titian’s stories
Sacred love is naked because in this case nakedness stands not for sexual promiscuity but for freedom from worldly attachment
Origins of the female nude
Venice was famous for its sophisticated courtesans, who mingled with the aristocracy and intelligentsia, as well as its thousands of common sex workers. This culture contributed to the nude genre.
Original URL: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/author/christopher-allen/page/21