Erotic Art History 101

Okay, right up front: when it comes to critiquing fine art, I have absolutely no credentials whatsoever. But I do appreciate beauty when I see it, and I've found some lovely pieces at The Art Renewal Center that I think visitors to my blog might also enjoy. And look: I'm letting the men in on the fun again! ;-P

First up is William Bouguereau, who has page after page after page of paintings at the ARC, mostly of children. They're cute and sweet and all; but uh uh, not for here. Nope, these are the ones you might enjoy. I'm actually using the first of the three as my desktop image right now. Mmm, I could just stare at that body forever. :-)



Next we have John William Waterhouse, who had a real gift for combining innocence, power, and nudity in his portraits of famous myths. I've been using calendars of his artwork for the last couple of years and love almost all his paintings. It's hard to choose just a few to showcase here, but if you like what you see, there are plenty more where these came from.




It's funny how so many classical artists enjoyed painting pictures of men being seduced and spirited away by supernatural creatures to who-knows-what fate. For instance, the nymphs in the picture above might look all sweet and innocent, but (cue dramatic music) Hylas was never heard from again! As for the drowning man begging for help from the siren, well, he's probably better off without her...though you never know. Who says all those multitudes of sailors seduced by her kind died on the rocks along with their ships? That might be just what the sirens want you to think. ;-) Anyway, here are a few more pictures along those same lines:














Unfortunately, the only classical painting I've found so far of women being spirited away by supernatural beings is that one at the top of Cupid and Psyche. For F/f action, I have to go back to Model Mayhem and Vizerskaya or Tiny Dragon Productions, and this is supposed to be an entry about art history, not present art.

Well, at least there's this one last painting to feed my white wedding fetish. And since the owner of the harem isn't pictured, it's easy enough for me to imagine a Sultana rather than a Sultan. ;-)