19th century nude gay men
The Temptation of the male
An acknowledged longing for the male body, and the liberalisation of social conventions gave grow to some daring works from the mid 20th century onwards. In the United States, in spite of its puritan outlook since the Second Nature War, Paul Cadmus did not balk at depicting a pick up scene between men in a most unlikely Finistère.
While the physical attraction of the body remained confined for a long period to the secrecy of private interiors, it was increasingly evident in widespread, in exclusively masculine social situations like communal showers or in the guise of a reconstructed Platonic Antiquity.
Eroticism is even presented quite crudely by Cocteau, whose influence on the young Warhol is undeniable. Beauty and seduction part company when the ideal transmitted by references to the past takes root in idiosyncratic practices and contemporary culture, as Hockney has expressed so accurately in his painting.
The Object of need
For many years, the male body in art had been the subject of “objectification”. The unrestrained admiration for the perfection of the Greco-Roman nudes, a purely intellectual reconstruction of a body that had become the c
Men at water. Jan Hietala and Eugène Jansson in dialogue
Men bathing is a subject that has attracted attention throughout art history. Bodies moving or at rest, and nude bathing with its oscillation between social and private situations, provide new opportunities to observe the naked male body. Bathing houses and spontaneous outdoor bathing own inspired artists at least since the late 19th century to portray both the hygienic benefits, the liberated playfulness and the erotic allure of water.
The artist Jan Hietala has long devoted himself to an exploration of this artistic tradition through a variety of media: painting, films, text and installations. Therefore, he has been invited to show a selection of his works and give a contemporary perspective on one of the Thiel Gallery’s most eye-catching paintings: The Navy Bath House (1907) by Eugène Jansson (1862-1915).
Jansson belonged to the close circle of artist friends of the collector Ernest Thiel, and his paintings commanded an entire wall in the upstairs gallery. Since 1970, when it became known that Jansson was homosexual, The Navy Bath House has been tucked away in the Gallery’s warehouse and only shown in temporary
Featuring works from 1539–1992 relating to Homosexual identities and Homoerotic appearances within art. Under the umbrella word of 'art and identity', sexuality resides within its own category. Queer Art explores how artists expressed themselves in a period when established assumptions about gender and sexuality were being questioned and transformed. Taking a roughly chronological view of the most important shifts and themes when it comes to the slow incline of acceptance of homosexuality. It is important to realize historical context when viewing these works, and the changing laws and views on homosexuality around the world
Artists featured in this Curation:Derek Jarman (1942–1994), John David Yeadon (b.1948), Colin Hall (b.1952), David Hockney (b.1937), Francis Bacon (1909–1992), Henry Scott Tuke (1858–1929), Ethel Walker (1861–1951), William Strang (1859–1921), Duncan Grant (1885–1978), Simeon Solomon (1840–1905),
Catch the final week of ‘The History of Photography: The Body’ display in Gallery 100 of the Museum, which has been extended until March 9th. If you own been on any of our recent LGBT guided tours run by our marvellous group of volunteers (meeting at 4pm on the last Saturday of every month at the Grand Entrance Meeting Point), you may have been taken through Gallery 100 as the display contains a glorious selection of LGBT material from a wide range of artists who I wanted to take the opportunity to highlight briefly before the present ends.
First off and in no particular order, Ruth Bernhard. Born in Berlin in 1905, she moved to New York City in 1927 and quickly became involved in the burgeoning gay and lesbian subculture of the city. Modern York had homosexual drag balls even then, with raucous masquerade parties at the now historic Webster Hall. Bernhard was part of a creative position of bisexual and gay women including noted photographer Berenice Abbott and her lover, the art critic and historian, Elizabeth McCausland. Bernhard moved cross-country to San Francisco, living to be 101 years old and working until very late in life. She is optimal known for her photographs of nude women
In 1858, Henry Scott Tuke was born in York to a prominent Quaker family. A British painter best famous for his intimate and sensual paintings of the male nude, Tuke's art fell from fashion in the years before his death. In the 1970s, his work returned to the limelight after he became an icon among the LGBTQ+ people and a fresh generation of openly gay artists.
By today's standards, Tuke's paintings are no less visually captivating or compelling than they once were. He is widely renowned for his impressionistic rendering of the English coasts, as well as his lifelike capturing of the softness and translucency of flesh. However in recent years, Tuke's fascination with youth – including unclothed male adolescents – has raised difficult yet intriguing questions about how to decide his work morally and sensitively in today's context.
The Critics 1927
Henry Scott Tuke (1858–1929)
Leamington Spa Art Gallery & MuseumBrought up in Falmouth and London, Tuke studied at the Slade College of Art under Alphonse Legros and Sir Edward Poynter. In 1880, he trained in Florence for a year before spending three years in Paris.
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