Sexuality Presented in Different Perspective of Authors

Reading Response on Art AnalysisNameCourseTutorDate
Pieces of art are often used to illustrate different aspects of life. In the late 18th and 19th century, there were a number of pieces of art that were drawn by the different artists. Most of these pieces were poplar and there are different reasons that made then to be popular. One of the main reasons was the ability of the artist to come up with vivid images that captured the attention of the viewers. Even though the artists presented issues that were somehow controversial and unacceptable in the society, their pieces of work would be popular since they aroused the feelings of the viewers. There are also different historians who have tried to interpret the work of these artists in different ways. Most of the interpretations are based on the life that the artists actually led and the relationship between their lives and what they expressed in artwork. In this paper, we will examine the different ways that artwork was used to express gender and sexuality by presenting the views of different authors on the topic.
In the article, Gustave Courbet's "The Sleepers." The Lesbian Image in Nineteenth-Century French Art and Literature, Konski (1988), takes a look at the different ways in which the art was used to express sexuality in the society. The author primarily examines the work of Gustave Courbet who was a popular artist in the 19th century. Most of the artists during this time relied on art as a means of expressing their views about sexuality and morality. According to Konski (1988), the best approach that was used in the art of Courbet can be described as naturalism or realism. This is where the artists provided a vivid image of whatever that they want the audience to know about the earth. Most of the pieces of art drawn by Courbet emphasized on this technique and through the technique, one would easily get the intended message of the artist. Perhaps one of the pieces of art that can be used to illustrate this is Courbet’s popular lesbian painting The Sleepers painted in 1866. Through the art, the artist explored the detailed anatomy of the female body making sure that he portrays the different body parts in a sensual manner. The author also argues that most of the images that were drawn by the artist did not contain any ambiguity. He would draw the subjects in a way to illustrate that these subjects had gone through an ‘intense romantic struggle’. From the perspective of the author, Courbet has also transformed some of the aspects in the traditional especially the art of the 18th century. One of the common pieces of art that can be used to illustrate this point is the Courbet’s Sleeping Nude that has a clear resemblance to Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres Odalisque With a Slave. Throughout the entire article, the author also presents the artworks of the other artists in the 18th century. All the artworks presented in the article are about lesbian love that was dominant in the 18th century. Most of the artists even chose to express what was taking place during the time using graphic images with some of them portraying the women in the act of sex. These lesbian images were later used by different authors in the 18th century who wrote about lesbianism.[Kosinski, Dorothy. 1988. "Gustave Courbet's "The Sleepers." The Lesbian Image in Nineteenth-Century French Art and Literature." Artibus et Historiae 9 (18): pp. 187-199.]
The author also makes an argument that the popularity of the pieces of art is a clear reflection on how lesbianism was actually popular in the 18th century. At a certain point, the author also makes a point that lesbianism was more popular and accepted than the male homosexuality. The idea that lesbianism was more popular and accepted by the people cannot be true to a certain extent. As always with the different pieces of art that the artists come up with, they are always looking out for a way of pleasing the viewer of the images. Therefore, an artist usually draws something that will arouse interest from the people. As an artist, Courbet knew these very well and if you clearly observe his pieces of art such as The Sleepers, it arouses the interest of the viewer and this is the main reason why it is popular. The images were drawn in a natural way portraying the sexual attractiveness of the female gender. It is also important to note that most of the pieces of art that were drawn by the tourists during the 18th century was an inspiration of what was happening in the society. They were looking out for a way of expressing the different social activities that were taking place in the society. Most of the images drawn during the 18th century to express the topic of lesbianism were often met with a disapproval from the members of the society CITATION Kos88 \l 1033 (Kosinski 1988). Even though they were disapproved by the society due to their morality, most of the images were popular since they aroused the feelings of the observer. As mentioned previously, the artist would focus more on coming up with erotic images to capture the interest of the viewer. The 18th century literature can also be attributed to the rise in lesbian art. Literature is always a reflection of what is exactly taking place in the society. The authors during the 18th century wrote romantic stories of the same sex. The stories were carefully drafted by the authors with some of them portraying lesbianism as something that was good in the society while it was actually not good at ll. There are also other authors who took it upon themselves to express the idea of lesbianism as something that was appealing. One of the popular authors who did this was Verlain. In his 6 lesnian poems that were published in 1867, he portrays that there was no moral conflict associated with lesbianism and it was indeed viewed as part of the society. The fact that there were so many pieces of art illustrating lesbianism does not mean that it was morally accepted in the society. It was often met with a moral disapproval and as we have observed in the article, there were no awards given to most of the artists who portrayed lesbianism as good. They were only popular since they were drawn in an erotic way to capture the attention of the viewers thus making them popular.[Ibid p. 97] [Kosinski, Dorothy. 1988. "Gustave Courbet's "The Sleepers." The Lesbian Image in Nineteenth-Century French Art and Literature." Artibus et Historiae 9 (18): pp. 187-199.]
In the article, Doing It Yourself: Machines, Masturbation, and Andy Warhol, the author Maizels (2014), takes a look at the different views surrounding the work of art by Andy Warhol. Warhol was a popular artist in the 19th century. Most of his earlier work such as that of the Cocal Cola bottle was actually an illustration of the rise in consumerism during the 19th century. Most of the pieces of art that were drawn by the artist during this time were what the author describes as ‘Do it yourself’ or they simply portrayed masturbation. The author makes an interpretation that the pieces of art which were drawn by Warhol were actually a reflection of same sex desire incidences that were taking place in the society. According to the author, same sexual desire topic was so controversial during this time in the society and the artist used the ‘do it yourself’ technique to make the viewers to understan...