Young Spartans Exercising

[GuiltyCowboy]

So, it's fairly often that books and films and music come up in discussions here in the AH. I always enjoy hearing people's thoughts on that stuff. It's quite rare though for painting or sculpture or any of the other plastic arts to discussed...

So, here's a question for you all: would you like to share a painting that has particularly struck you, especially in terms of erotica or for your writing?

Doesn't have to be meaningful, can be only a fleeting thing.

Show us the painting or the sculpture and tell us why.

 

[dirk2024]

Well...the statue of Venus de Milo has always been intriguing.

First, as noted when I was a young man (boy...whatever), she's topless. She has a pure beauty to her...no tats or piercings to mar her skin.

But as I aged, and began to enjoy the thrill of a little soft bondage, the whole "no arms" thing intrigues me.

View attachment 2617117

 

[GuiltyCowboy]

The title of this thread is a Degas painting. There's a preparatory drawing in Chicago and a finished painting in the National Gallery in London. Apparently, Degas really cherished it: he kept it for himself throughout his life and displayed it on an easel for his own pleasure.

I was thinking about it last night and remembering the feeling I had when I first saw it; I can't have been much older than the youths in the painting itself. It shows a passage from Plutarch, where he describes how Spartan girls were encouraged to good-naturedly challenge boys at wrestling and gymnastics and so on. I found the idea of my friends and the girls I knew behaving like that absolutely intoxicating (my girlfriend at the time actively disliked it!). I wonder if it's played into what I now find erotic (brazen nudity, beauty etc.).

I fully appreciate that the age of the youths is today a little problematic (and that's not at all why I like it) but, like I say, I first saw it when I was about their age, so it really struck me, and it is on display at the National Gallery in London.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young...artans_Exercising_National_Gallery_NG3860.jpg

 

[GuiltyCowboy]

Well...the statue of Venus de Milo has always been intriguing.

First, as noted when I was a young man (boy...whatever), she's topless. She has a pure beauty to her...no tats or piercings to mar her skin.

But as I aged, and began to enjoy the thrill of a little soft bondage, the whole "no arms" thing intrigues me.

View attachment 2617117

And, with no arms, it's going to be a struggle for her to stop that toga falling any lower.

 

[KittyOfSteele]

Hans Bellmer. I saw him first because of the Story of the Eye edition that I have has the artwork he did for a special edition of the book. I explored him a lot more, and found myself fascinated. His dolls got me intrigued. He can be quite creepy to look at, but... you know it can get worse. Giger comes to mind.

Pin-up photography and illustrations also get me. It's one of the first things I've learned to draw. I don't have anyone in particular, but Thierry Beaudenon taught me with his book. It did get me into looking at Hollywood from the 60s and back.

The photography of Mr. Robot is also a huge inspiration. I loved the genius of many frames, and there is one in particular with both Elliot and Angela back to back on different colors that really represent the point of their story that they found themselves into at that point.

Also pulp magazines in general. The covers, mostly. The ones titled "Spicy" have cool covers, but the Shadow novels really got me into seeing how this evolved into comic books.

Speaking of comic books, Sin City's artwork is a big influence in me. Even before writing erotica, Sin City was my standard for my own creations, both in story as well as in drawings.

And then there's Nicolas Winding Refn. You can see some of my work does take a lot of the way he works with lights. The difference is that my neon speaks a language of its own.

 

[SmilingLez]

Salvador Dali's The Persistence of Memory reinforces (to me) the fluidity of time. The first time I saw the painting, I was surprised that it was so small. I then found out that Salvador Dali used a camel hair brush with ine camel hair to paint. That is why there are no visible brush strokes.

https://www.moma.org/collection/works/79018

 

[SmilingLez]

Hans Bellmer. I saw him first because of the Story of the Eye edition that I have has the artwork he did for a special edition of the book. I explored him a lot more, and found myself fascinated. His dolls got me intrigued. He can be quite creepy to look at, but... you know it can get worse. Giger comes to mind.

1 of the first pieces of erotic art I bought was a punch plate etching called For Madam Edwarda by Hans Bellmer

 

[EmilyMiller]

So, it's fairly often that books and films and music come up in discussions here in the AH. I always enjoy hearing people's thoughts on that stuff. It's quite rare though for painting or sculpture or any of the other plastic arts to discussed...

So, here's a question for you all: would you like to share a painting that has particularly struck you, especially in terms of erotica or for your writing?

Doesn't have to be meaningful, can be only a fleeting thing.

Show us the painting or the sculpture and tell us why.

I’ve compared one of my FMC’s ass to a Canova statue twice*

View attachment 2617129


* Not an author insert sadly

 

[MelissaBaby]

John Singer Sargent's Portrait of Madame X.




The model, Virginie Gautreau, was actually an American woman from New Orleans who had married a French banker and became notorious in Parisian social circles for her alleged infidelities. Many artists begged to paint her portrait, until finally she agreed to pose for Sargent, because he was a fellow American.

When the portrait was exhibited in 1884, it created an uproar. Of course, even though her name was not used, everyone knew who she was. The painting was considered vulgar, indecent and deliberately provocative. The version we see now has been altered from the original. Sargent had originally painted the shoulder strap of her dress hanging down her arm, which made it look more risqué. The painting was never sold, until Sargent sold it to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1916. But over the years it came to be seen as his masterpiece.

What speaks to me is a combination of the work itself, and its history. Madame X strikes me a marvelous exemplar of female sensuality. Her body is turned toward the viewer, her breasts almost thrust out, her left hand gathering her dress at the level of her crotch. And yet, her face is turned away and she is expressing no emotion. Is she looking away in shame? indifference? Arrogance? It is a mystery.

The society of her day scorned her image, but over time, she has come to be nicknamed "The Mona Lisa of the Met". That speaks to me of resilience, of triumph, of an enduring feminine strength.

 

[AG31]

I entered an alcove at a museum that contained maybe 3 or 4 paintings on each wall. When I turned to leave I was faced with this painting (not all of background is here, as I had to shrink it.) This is a John Singer Sargent painting of Thomas E McKellor, one of his favorite models, I learned after I purchased the catalogue. There was a thread here recently about authenticity. This struck me as not only being visually arresting, but it seemed to have come from the painter's heart.
Edit: Here's a link outside AH, since the picture was removed (scroll down).

 

[MelissaBaby]

Back to back Sargents!

 

[EmilyMiller]

And of course…

View attachment 2617133

When I visited Musée d'Orsay, I spent quite some time in front of Manet’s painting.

 

[GuiltyCowboy]

John Singer Sargent's Portrait of Madame X.


View attachment 2617132

The model, Virginie Gautreau, was actually an American woman from New Orleans who had married a French banker and became notorious in Parisian social circles for her alleged infidelities. Many artists begged to paint her portrait, until finally she agreed to pose for Sargent, because he was a fellow American.

When the portrait was exhibited in 1884, it created an uproar. Of course, even though her name was not used, everyone knew who she was. The painting was considered vulgar, indecent and deliberately provocative. The version we see now has been altered from the original. Sargent had originally painted the shoulder strap of her dress hanging down her arm, which made it look more risqué. The painting was never sold, until Sargent sold it to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1916. But over the years it came to be seen as his masterpiece.

What speaks to me is a combination of the work itself, and its history. Madame X strikes me a marvelous exemplar of female sensuality. Her body is turned toward the viewer, her breasts almost thrust out, her left hand gathering her dress at the level of her crotch. And yet, her face is turned away and she is expressing no emotion. Is she looking away in shame? indifference? Arrogance? It is a mystery.

The society of her day scorned her image, but over time, she has come to be nicknamed "The Mona Lisa of the Met". That speaks to me of resilience, of triumph, of an enduring feminine strength.

What adds another layer to the painting is that Sargent was almost certainly thinking of his 'dear friend' Albert de Belleroche.

 

[AG31]

What adds another layer to the painting is that Sargent was almost certainly thinking of his 'dear friend' Albert de Belleroche.

How do we know that?

 

[MelissaBaby]

How do we know that?

I had not heard that before, but comparing the two profiles, I can see the point.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

The photos of Robert Mapplethorpe made an impression on me as a teenager, even the ones printed in mainstream magazines. I was only really familiar with his photos of himself and Patti Smith, but it was actually his Tulips that made me a big fan.

Smith


Imagine my surprise when I was about 25 and went to an exhibition of his, and found out about all his works that were a lot closer to say Tom of Finland.

 

[GuiltyCowboy]

How do we know that?

I had not heard that before, but comparing the two profiles, I can see the point.

Well, to be fair, we don't know it definitively; Sargent didn't state it anywhere as far as I'm aware. It just looks too striking not to be the case.

And he also used Albert to do preparatory studies for another painting of Gautreau (Madame Gautreau Drinking A Toast) so it seems a fairly reasonable assumption he did the same for Madame X.

 

[GuiltyCowboy]

Back to back Sargents!

On the subject of Sargent, I’ve always found this detail to be super sexy. And combined with those slightly heavy eyes looking up. She’s definitely not thinking the kind of thoughts she could share with her mother.

 

[BellaBestia]

I’m currently writing about a vengeful seductive mermaid and Gaston Bassiere’s Sea Nymphs at a Grotto is keeping me inspired. Who wouldn’t dive in?

Sea Nymphs at a Grotto

 

[MrPixel]

View attachment 2617117

View attachment 2617129

View attachment 2617133

All result in:



Site censoring legitimate works of art? Is there another explanation?

 

[MajorRewrite]

Pygmalion and Galatea

My story Obsessed With Youth is loosely based on the same tale as the painting.

 

[ElectricBlue]

On the subject of Sargent, I’ve always found this detail to be super sexy. And combined with those slightly heavy eyes looking up. She’s definitely not thinking the kind of thoughts she could share with her mother.View attachment 2617175

I'd not noticed this before, but the Sargent woman is uncannily like Klimt's Adele Bloch:

 

[EmilyMiller]

All result in:

View attachment 2617217

Site censoring legitimate works of art? Is there another explanation?

Wow! That’s crazy! Does no nudity apply to great works of art now? @AH_Mod

FWIW the images I used are from Wikimedia commons. This makes like zero sense to me.

 

[MrPixel]

Canova

Was it The Three Graces? We have a full-size reproduction displayed outside at our local highbrow art museum.

Nice tush.

 

[EmilyMiller]

Was it The Three Graces? We have a full-size reproduction displayed outside at our local highbrow art museum.

Nice tush.

Yeah and Olympia - WTAF?