So if you were hanging out with the pope...having a drink with the guy; What would he talk about?
So if you were hanging out with the pope...having a drink with the guy; What would he talk about?![]()
Oh, oh I can answer that! :smile: Finally my degree in art history comes in handy online. :biggrin1: During the Renaissance it was believed that man was God's greatest creation. Therefore to show the glory of God it was just and right to show the male form in various artistic media. What better way to show appreciation for God's greatest creation than to show two men wrestling nude? Sure you can have one nude guy just standing there flexing. But to really get a look at the various veins, muscles and tendons it's easier just to have 2 men together.Homoeroticism in italian Renaissance Sculpture & Frescoes
njqt:
That is a lovely, splendid answer.
The only thing I would take issue with is your characterization of men "wrestling nude". Men do not "wrestle nude" in Renaissance art. Men wrestle nude in Greek art.
There is much homoeroticism to be found in Michelangelo, Da Vinci, Donatello, Titian, and later, Caravaggio.... but no "nude wrestling".
The homoeroticism in Renaissance art is a result of the (gay?) artist's vision. The beautiful sinew and muscle tone. The graceful body lines. There is a tacit love of men's bodies expressed in these frescoes and sculptures, a sublimated passion for the male form...
File:Michelangelos David.jpg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
File:God2-Sistine Chapel.png - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
There are three wrestling nude male bronzes in the Abbott-Guggenheim collection. All three of them show classical figures of Gauls wrestling with Romans in battle. Among popular subjects of the period are similar scenes and, of course, the notorious Laocoön Group sculptures which were very popular. One of the most famous nude wrestling groups of the Renaissance period is the engraving by Pollaiuolo, Battle of Naked Men. Another popular subject is Jacob Wrestling the Angel. This subject has been popular from the late Medieval to the present day.
That is a lovely, splendid answer.
The only thing I would take issue with is your characterization of men "wrestling nude". Men do not "wrestle nude" in Renaissance art.
jason:
How dare you show me up. Know-it-all!
p.s. "Battle of Naked Men" does not seem excessively "homoerotic" to me. Unless all naked guys are considered "homoerotic". There is no sexual frisson for me. No underlying sexual tension.
I wouldn't mind you accompanying me, though, on my next trip to the Getty (both of them). We'd have a blast sipping lattes (in the courtyard), then walking the rooms and gossiping & critiquing the High Renaissance.
jason:
Here's a work commonly described as homoerotic (even though it's subject is the death of a christian saint and martyr). "Saint Sebastian" by Venice-born Carlo Saraceni (painted around 1610, early baroque).
Notice the sensualized body image & graceful, yet masculine, repose. There does seem to be an implicit sensualization of the male form.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:SaraceniSebastian.jpg