After looking up shunga(japanese erotic art) in google after reading this thread, it occurs to me that I’ve never actually seen any pornographic classical western art. Sure, theres plenty of statues and paintings with people in various states of undress and the undertone of sex, the rape of the sabine women for example. But I’ve never actually seen art depicting two (or more) people in the act of copulation. It’s always just before or just after.
Now, is this because museums refuse to place such collections where it can be viewed by children or because it just didn’t exist back in those days? I somehow doubt it to be the second option given how obsessed with sex the human race is. Are there any examples of classical, pornographic art out there?
foot in mouth ignore the above link. That’s a modern day attempt at replicating vintage erotica technique.
In any case, you can look for vintage erotica paintings, although I don’t know of any that depicts a man and woman in copulation. I guess men don’t like to see other men involved with a woman. It’s also interesting to note that in vintage pornography, the women look far more real than in modern pornography… they look like your typical housewife.
There are TONS of greek vases and such depicting the types of acts you speak of. One common ploy was to put the money scene at the bottom of the cup so that you didn’t see it until you drank it up.
There is abundant erotica from the Renaissance, a primary example of which would be Pietro Aretino’s I Modi book of erotic art, published in 1527 (link contains some mild Renaissance porn, so may not be work safe):
Quite a few frescos from Pompeii depicting erotic scenes can be seen here . I’ve been to Pompeii and Herculaneum, and though a few of these photos are difficult to see, in person it’s very clear what’s going on…
Interesting side-note; my mother visited Pompeii during the 50’s, and tells me authorities there refused to allow women into the brothels. Today there are no such restrictions.
It takes a pretty extraordinary set of circumstances in order for a piece of artwork to survive for thousands of years. Textiles are extremely vulnerable to the ravages of time. Paintings chip, peel, and fade. Marble statues tend to shatter when tipped over. Buildings fall apart from neglect, collapse during earthquakes, or are reduced to rubble during war.
Even during ancient times, the buying and selling (and stealing and forging) of great art was a lucrative business. Romans such as Gaius Verres wandered the eastern provinces, stealing every bit of statuary they could get their hands on – for their private collections.
This does not even take into account the fact that the arts and artifacts of the ancients have not always been regarded as worthy of preservation for their own sake. Scholars cannot even estimate the number of ancient bronzes that have been melted down over the ages to be recast into cannons. Ancient temples have long been plundered – not only for their precious metals and jewels, but even for their construction materials. During the Renaissance, for example, it was not at all unusual for a wealthy family to “appropriate” a set of columns from a Roman temple in order to decorate their new villa. Nobody seemed overly concerned if this caused the temple to collapse.
Don’t forget also the forces of religious extremism. Fanatical Christian and Muslim rulers have long denounced art and literature viewed as blasphemous, obscene, or subversive.
So we probably shouldn’t wonder that so little erotic art has survived from the ancient world. Rather, we should be amazed that so much has survived.
Erotic Art of the Masters contains a wide variety of pornographic art from around the world, including plenty from the West. It’s been a while since I’ve seen it, but IIRC it includes pornographic works by some pretty famous artists such as Degas.
It’s also interesting to note that in vintage pornography, the women look far more real than in modern pornography… they look like your typical housewife.