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How to Read Erotic Art
Eroticism is a truly universal topic, a subject that has always fascinated humankind. Erotic art is telling: It reveals much about an era, a culture, and psychology; it can be sweet, aggressive, soothing, or wild. Erotic Art explores the history of erotic art and presents paintings, drawings, etchings, sculptures, and more by Titian, Picasso, and Keith Haring, by Bernini, Rodin, and Giacometti, and from ancient Greece, Rome, China, Japan, India, and the Middle East. Reproduced in lush color with close-up details, the art is accompanied by texts that offer insights into how to read the different works. In this book, erotic art gives up its secrets.
Praise for How to Read Erotic Art:
"The lush illustrations together with the texts . . . make How to Read Erotic Art an informative, fun, and sexy addition to any collection." —The Huffington Post
Praise for How to Read Erotic Art:
"The lush illustrations together with the texts . . . make How to Read Erotic Art an informative, fun, and sexy addition to any collection." —The Huffington Post
390 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2011
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48 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
November 3, 2015
The art itself is wonderful. The design of the book is fine and suitable for the content. The selection is iffy and the prose is lacking. Problems that stood out include:
* When indicating the sources of the art, the source provided is usually the museum where it's held. When it's a piece from centuries ago, you'd think the region it's from - either known location of creation or known location of discovery - would be stated. Seems important, right?
* Heavy weighting toward European and colonized American art by identified artists, with very few named artists outside of those areas. This means that the last century of art presented is entirely from those areas, and almost nothing in the book is African or First Nations. It's not for lack of erotic art from those ancient cultures or modern inhabitant.
* When people of color are presented in erotic art from the 18th and 19th centuries, there's of course a lot of "dusky maiden" type eroticization of brown skin. It's not surprising and I think it's valuable to include, but context around items that spawned and perpetuated racist caricatures seems appropriate and necessary. The book is tight on room but had enough room for two or more pieces from certain artists and extra two-page spreads for some pieces - I think the room could have been made. Especially because...
* Most of the text is a written description of the visible parts of the image rather than an intentional interpretation (of course, any written description must by nature be an interpretation). For a book where each piece is presented with only two to four hundred words, spending two hundred words on telling you what you're seeing seems unnecessary - at that point, ditch the words entirely and just double the number of pieces in the book. Or, you know, write content that matters.
* And really, that's where the book fails hardest. Part of what makes the analysis of the erotic in art is that not all nudity or sexuality is eroticism. Some of it is nonerotic nudity. Some of it is nonerotic rape. Some of it is nonerotic cigars. Some of it is specifically erotic or non-erotic in context of the culture that produced it. And there is some prose that starts to approach some of these items, starts to navigate what erotic need some pieces might have met, but it's mostly spent on the same canon of European and colonized American artists. Almost nothing within this book drew the many pieces together; certainly nothing suggested how to read erotic art. I say almost nothing because there is a thread of looking at variations of Venus paintings. Had the book focused on just variations of Venus paintings it would probably have been much better; clearly that's an area Febbraro has some knowledge.
* And I didn't manage to fit it well in with the above order, but there's almost no homoerotic art in here, and almost all of that is rapey.
On the other hand, now I certainly have plenty of artists to check out that I didn't know before.
* When indicating the sources of the art, the source provided is usually the museum where it's held. When it's a piece from centuries ago, you'd think the region it's from - either known location of creation or known location of discovery - would be stated. Seems important, right?
* Heavy weighting toward European and colonized American art by identified artists, with very few named artists outside of those areas. This means that the last century of art presented is entirely from those areas, and almost nothing in the book is African or First Nations. It's not for lack of erotic art from those ancient cultures or modern inhabitant.
* When people of color are presented in erotic art from the 18th and 19th centuries, there's of course a lot of "dusky maiden" type eroticization of brown skin. It's not surprising and I think it's valuable to include, but context around items that spawned and perpetuated racist caricatures seems appropriate and necessary. The book is tight on room but had enough room for two or more pieces from certain artists and extra two-page spreads for some pieces - I think the room could have been made. Especially because...
* Most of the text is a written description of the visible parts of the image rather than an intentional interpretation (of course, any written description must by nature be an interpretation). For a book where each piece is presented with only two to four hundred words, spending two hundred words on telling you what you're seeing seems unnecessary - at that point, ditch the words entirely and just double the number of pieces in the book. Or, you know, write content that matters.
* And really, that's where the book fails hardest. Part of what makes the analysis of the erotic in art is that not all nudity or sexuality is eroticism. Some of it is nonerotic nudity. Some of it is nonerotic rape. Some of it is nonerotic cigars. Some of it is specifically erotic or non-erotic in context of the culture that produced it. And there is some prose that starts to approach some of these items, starts to navigate what erotic need some pieces might have met, but it's mostly spent on the same canon of European and colonized American artists. Almost nothing within this book drew the many pieces together; certainly nothing suggested how to read erotic art. I say almost nothing because there is a thread of looking at variations of Venus paintings. Had the book focused on just variations of Venus paintings it would probably have been much better; clearly that's an area Febbraro has some knowledge.
* And I didn't manage to fit it well in with the above order, but there's almost no homoerotic art in here, and almost all of that is rapey.
On the other hand, now I certainly have plenty of artists to check out that I didn't know before.
October 26, 2021
A stunning collection of cross-cultural erotic art from 25,000 B.C. to 1996 A.D., beautifully displayed, and with insightful commentary from Febbraro. In addition to pointing out aspects of the art that may escape the eye, he explains the references to mythology, literature, history, cultural mores, and what constituted ‘beauty’ at the time. It’s a book where you never know what’s going to come on the next page, and it’s a joy to both see the art and to read the text, making it hard to put down.
Interesting patterns emerge in this slice of the human condition. On one hand, three are the most beautiful of things from our higher natures - the adoration of the human form, the simple joy of pleasure, and artistry that both confronts and challenges us. On the other hand, there is also a pattern of violence against women and children throughout the ages in sexual objectification, slavery, and prostitution.
It’s a book that from page to page can make you feel a kaleidoscope of emotions, ranging from spiritually uplifted to turned on, better informed, or simply disturbed. And I think this is what great art should do, provoke a reaction.
Some examples…
Sublime:
Young Woman Dancing, mid-3rd millennium BC India
The Farnese Antinuous, 2nd century Italy
Stauette of a Chosen Woman, 1430-1512 Peru
Portrait of a Young Woman (La Fornarina), Raphael, 1520
St. Teresa in Ecstasy, Bernini, 1647-1652
Madonna, Edvard Munch, 1894-1895
Romantic:
Vajrasattva and Visvatara (a yabyum), 18th century India
Cupid and Pysche, Canova, 1787-1793
The Waltz, Camille Claudel, 1889-1893
The Kiss, Gustav Klimt, 1907-1908
Disturbing:
An Adult and a Youth Preparing for Sexual Relations, 5th century BC Greece
La Toilette intime, Boucher, 1742
Untitled (Nudes), Grosz, 1919
The Guitar Lesson, Balthus, 1934
Sexy:
Yakshini, 2nd century India
Devadasi, c. 950 India
The Toilet of Venus (The ‘Rokeby’ Venus), Velazquez, 1647-1651
Reclining Girl, Boucher, 1752
Red Nude, Modigliani, 1917
Over-the-top:
Orgy Scene, the Pedieus Painter, 510-510 B.C.
Temple sculpture at Khandariya Mahadeva, early 11th century India
Zeus Seducing Olympias, Giulio Romano, 1526-1528
Dream of the Fisherman’s Wife, Hokusai, 1814
Profane:
The Temptation of St. Anthony, Felicien Rops, 1878
… And what I love is that everyone’s examples and categorizations will be completely different. Based on the content, probably not a book for the coffee table, but highly recommended.
Interesting patterns emerge in this slice of the human condition. On one hand, three are the most beautiful of things from our higher natures - the adoration of the human form, the simple joy of pleasure, and artistry that both confronts and challenges us. On the other hand, there is also a pattern of violence against women and children throughout the ages in sexual objectification, slavery, and prostitution.
It’s a book that from page to page can make you feel a kaleidoscope of emotions, ranging from spiritually uplifted to turned on, better informed, or simply disturbed. And I think this is what great art should do, provoke a reaction.
Some examples…
Sublime:
Young Woman Dancing, mid-3rd millennium BC India
The Farnese Antinuous, 2nd century Italy
Stauette of a Chosen Woman, 1430-1512 Peru
Portrait of a Young Woman (La Fornarina), Raphael, 1520
St. Teresa in Ecstasy, Bernini, 1647-1652
Madonna, Edvard Munch, 1894-1895
Romantic:
Vajrasattva and Visvatara (a yabyum), 18th century India
Cupid and Pysche, Canova, 1787-1793
The Waltz, Camille Claudel, 1889-1893
The Kiss, Gustav Klimt, 1907-1908
Disturbing:
An Adult and a Youth Preparing for Sexual Relations, 5th century BC Greece
La Toilette intime, Boucher, 1742
Untitled (Nudes), Grosz, 1919
The Guitar Lesson, Balthus, 1934
Sexy:
Yakshini, 2nd century India
Devadasi, c. 950 India
The Toilet of Venus (The ‘Rokeby’ Venus), Velazquez, 1647-1651
Reclining Girl, Boucher, 1752
Red Nude, Modigliani, 1917
Over-the-top:
Orgy Scene, the Pedieus Painter, 510-510 B.C.
Temple sculpture at Khandariya Mahadeva, early 11th century India
Zeus Seducing Olympias, Giulio Romano, 1526-1528
Dream of the Fisherman’s Wife, Hokusai, 1814
Profane:
The Temptation of St. Anthony, Felicien Rops, 1878
… And what I love is that everyone’s examples and categorizations will be completely different. Based on the content, probably not a book for the coffee table, but highly recommended.
April 16, 2020
It’s interesting but I had concerns. It’s not entirely clear why certain things would be included, The concept of erotic is very broadly treated. The text frequently references details which are not visible in the photo. The selection of non-European art works is welcome
July 9, 2020
A beginners book, Brief, reference style, that is a lot of fun.
A really good starting point, and keeper for referencing.
A really good starting point, and keeper for referencing.
April 13, 2016
Although I'm not sure I necessarily agree with the author's interpretation of the eroticism of some pieces (and puzzled at the inclusion of others), I found this book fascinating and really enjoyed it for what it was; a fun, meandering look into thousands of years of human history through the many-colored lenses of desire. I was familiar with a number of works, but many were new to me. Final verdict: visually stimulation and educational, definitely worth my time.
September 22, 2014
Great read. Good explanation of interpretations. Could have been more in depth. Wonderful exploration of the topics. Would love to study items up close after reading this.
March 1, 2013
Nice starter to the field. Great text and beautiful image reproductions
January 26, 2014
From pre-history to 2000, informative and enjoyable.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews