Discuss the ‘Homoerotic Nude’ At the Beginning of the 19th Century.

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Nancy Duncan        

DISCUSS THE ‘HOMOEROTIC NUDE’ AT THE BEGINNING OF THE 19TH CENTURY.

At the beginning of 19th Century, there was a shift amongst some artists in the portrayal of the male nude; they ignored the traditional neoclassical aesthetic of masculine and stoic forms, and instead pursued an essentially feminised, more sensual male nude.  This feminised form was a result of idealising the nude, influenced from the Platonic notion of a higher realm in which truth equals beauty equals wisdom.  Platonic philosophy believes art to be merely a copy from a copy of the ideal realm; hence, the artist should paint an idealised image of what he sees. Therefore, some artists chose to idealise the male form into something of perfection and beauty in order to convey strength, as opposed to the traditional use of muscular forms.

Some believe these idealised male forms to be homoerotic, due to their effeminate nature and lack of masculinity. If this were the case then yet again art was reflecting the contemporary political climate; for in 1804, the Napoleonic code confirmed the legalisation of same-sex relationships.  Whether this was responsible for the changing male nude is open to question, but it cannot be denied that at this time, artists began to exhibit nudes of homoerotic undertones at the Paris salons.  For example, Girodets celebrated Sleep of Endymion (1793) and Ingres’ Achilles Receiving the Ambassadors of Agamemnon (1801).

Neoclassicism and Romanticism were the two major art movements of the time. Neoclassical subjects were usually based upon male characters from classical myths that were adapted to coincide with contemporary French politics.  Romanticism aimed to challenge, often using controversial subjects aiming to evoke emotions.  Romanticism led to the artists’ reputation as a bad influence, often bisexual, who aimed to shock his audience. It was an amalgamation of these two styles that brought about the ‘homoerotic nude’ at the beginning of 19th Century.

Yet another potential influence on the changing male nude was the contemporary Art historian Johann Joachim Wincklemann, who focused on the ‘ideal of mythological nudity’ and homoeroticism in his appraisal of ancient Greek Art.

David’s Paris and Helen (1787) is regarded as an anomaly amongst his paintings as it prescribes to this new sensual aesthetic. David intended Paris and Helen to be exhibited alongside his conventional painting, the Death of Socrates, thus making a dramatic statement at the Salon of 1787. David wanted the two contrasting works to be viewed together as an antithesis of moral and ethical meanings: on the one hand a powerful and heroic Socrates and on the other an effeminate Paris.  However, Paris and Helen was never completed in time for the Salon of 1787 and therefore the subtle contradiction was lost.  

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Paris is unusually portrayed nude alongside a fully clothed Helen, his body is beautified and idealised in a non-masculine approach, a complete contrast to Socrates’ stoic portrayal. Paris represents the perfection of beautiful manhood, which gives the painting a spiritual value.  

David believed that art was a form of knowledge and philosophical inquiry therefore leading to a higher understanding of the human condition. This might explain why David moved away from a stoic portrayal of Paris in favour of an idealised male nude, alluding to a beautiful soul within a beautiful body. In contrast to the sculptural ...

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