Gay greek painting
The classical world has prolonged provided artists with a repository of recognisable narratives, motifs and forms from which to populate their work. These allusions and references position an artist’s work in an established and respected canon and imbue the piece with cultural sophistication and currency. This, in turn, can also license subversive material that would otherwise be considered unacceptable to talk about or portray.
The notion of ‘Greek love’ to narrate the homoerotic customs, practices and attitudes of the ancient Greeks has permitted artists to explore male and homosexual love in their work without dread of persecution. The British painter Keith Vaughan (–) is one example. Vaughan used the Greek landscape and mythological scenes to express his desires, and the shades of alabaster and yellow which often constructed his painted figures are reminiscent of the marble statues of antiquity.
A conscientious objector in the Second World War, Vaughan joined the neo-romantic circles of the immediate post-war years alongside his friends and fellow artists Graham Sutherland and John Minton. Vaughan’s work moved further towards abstraction in later life and
Ganymede was 'the fairest of mortal men; wherefore the gods caught him up on high to be cupbearer to Zeus by reason of his beauty, that he might dwell with the immortals.'
So says Homer in the Iliad. Throughout antiquity, there was a fascination with the tale of how Zeus, king of the gods, fell in love with a human boy. The scene of Zeus swooping down from Olympus to steal away Ganymede, famous as 'The Rape of Ganymede', appeared on pottery, frescoes, statues and mosaics.
Zeus and Ganymede
c– BC, Attic red-figured kylix, attributed to the Penthesilea Painter. Ferrara Archaeological Museum
While many ancient depictions from Greece show two humans in the tale of Ganymede, the Romans favoured a version more in keeping with Zeus' fondness for wooing mortals in zoological form. According to the Roman poet Ovid:
'The king of the gods was once fired with like for Phrygian Ganymede, and when that happened Jupiter found another shape preferable to his own. Wishing to turn himself into a bird, he nonetheless scorned to change into any save that which can carry his thunderbolts. Then without delay, beating the air on borrowed pinions, he snatched away the shephe
From the title of this post, you might consider I&#;m going to chat about that scene from Maurice set at the British Museum. Considering there&#;s a movie adaptation of Maurice, there&#;s a chance I still might. No, in this Museum Adventure, I&#;m talking about another queer scene at the Museum. This one.
I found this vase in a part of the museum I had never visited before; room 20a. It&#;s a mezzanine floor that is always closed off whenever I seem to be around. I&#;ve been at the museum for years now, so finally being qualified to go up there was quite something!
The walls were densely crammed with Greek pottery and the mezzanine gave me a view of the Caryatid from the Acropolis that I had never seen before. I took my time, savouring the views and keeping an eye out for any curious pieces.
It&#;s clear why this one jumped out at me!
The longer I looked, the more questions I had about the depicted scene; what&#;s going on with those crowns? what is that walking stick for?
As I usually accomplish in times like this, I turned to the label for more facts. It told me this:
&#;Homosexual scene
(back:youths)
Dinos Painter, about BC
From Capua.&#;
Then, in smaller type i
Homosexual Love Gay painting ceramic Kylix vase Ancient Greece Greek Pottery
MADE IN GREECE- HAND PAINTED
only decorative
Dimensions (approximately):
Width (without handles): 19,5 cm (in)
(With handles): 25,5cm (in)
Net Weight: 0,6 kgr ( lb)
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