The image of Ganymede in France, 1730-1820: the survival of a homoerotic myth

• Autores: Michaël Preston Worley
• Localización: Art bulletin, ISSN 0004-3079, Vol. 76, Nº 4, 1994, págs. 630-643
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • This study examines representations of the myth of Ganymede in French art from 1730 to 1820, a time when classical mythology was rationalized and the traditional Neoplatonic image of Ganymede as a symbol of divine ecstasy was incompatible with Enlightenment philosophy; male love as a spiritually superior form of passion had become an archaic concept. On more than one occasion, images of the theme aroused moral indignation, and despite the promotion of a liberal climate for sexual freedom by the philosophes, conservatives, led by the Académie's upper hierarchy in league with the Church, attempted to censor erotic works of art.