Eros and Realism
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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This page explores eroticism in 19th century realist arts (as a 19th century French art movement). The history of eroticism and realism starts with Le déjeuner sur l'herbe by Édouard Manet. Painted between 1862 and 1863 , the juxtaposition of a female nude with fully dressed men sparked controversy, the work was refused for the Paris Salon of 1863 but shown instead in the Salon des Refusés, for in 1863; nudes were acceptable in under the pretext of historical allegories, but to show them in common settings was forbidden. The nude in Manet's painting was no nymph, or mythological being ... she was a modern Parisian woman cast into a contemporary setting with two clothed men. Many found this to be quite vulgar. Napoleon III, who had personally expressed his dislike of the painting, bought Cabanel's The Birth of Venus, illustrating the predilection of bourgeois clientele for the erotic legitimacy of l'art pompier.
The history of eroticism in modern art continues with Olympia, again by Édouard Manet, painted in 1863, it stirred an uproar when it was first exhibited at the Paris Salon of 1865.
See also
- Blonde Woman with Bare Breasts (1878) - Edouard Manet
- French realism
- Eros and Courbet