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He was an important figure in underground gay culture. Later, until his death, Andy Warhol was unapologetic about his erotic photography and male nudes. For a long time, this was the only way for women to read about lesbianism, and they acted as important pop culture representation. In the United States, gay and lesbian artwork first took the form of the pulp fiction of the 1950s and 60s. Today, Africa struggles against western anti-homosexual ideology from years past, where it was once accepted in society. He is best known for the Sistine Chapel, the Statue of David, and Bacchus.Īfter the Europeans colonized Africa, artworks depicting homosexual acts were systematically eradicated. He regularly employed male models, even for his female figures, and outwardly praised the male body. Michelangelo may have been on of the premier painters of the time, but he was largely criticized for his homosexual relationships. On the ceiling of the holiest place in Catholicism are numerous male nudes that hail back to the Renaissance. Baths were also common throughout the Muslim world, and in male bathhouses, young boys worked there and performed sexual services for the patrons. While the Muslim world has banned homosexuality, the Sufi mystic apprentices often recount their love and devotion to and sexual encounters with their masters in poetry. As a result, the majority of homosexual art is represented in temples or hails to the Mughal romances ( ). Throughout India there was a “sexual cleansing” campaign that took place, hoping to erase their history of homoerotic artwork. There are many paintings and poems about the relationship between the samurais and lovemaking between males. Nanshoku means “the love of the samurai,” and it was an emotional and sexual bond between an older warrior and a younger apprentice. The Samurai tradition in Japan has translated into many movies, however, they all forget one important part. While they are aesthetically pleasing, the paintings were also meant to provide instruction for shy or inexperienced youth. This style of painting reached its heyday in the mid-fourteenth century because artists signed their work and lived without fear of censorship. They are an important part of Chinese cultural heritage. In China the spring palace homoerotic paintings date back over 2000 years. The berdache ceremony is its own artform. While no Native American art survives depicting homosexual relationships, the tradition of berdache, “an American Indian transvestite assuming more or less permanently the dress, social status, and role of a woman.” If parents noticed that their son wasn’t showing interest in typically male activities, a ceremony would be held to determine the way the child should be brought up. While they may be best known for their pyramid like structures, the Mayans also drew and painted homosexual couples, considering it a rite of the underworld. However, Hercules had a relationship with Iolaos, which is displayed on pottery.īefore the Europeans discovered the New World, the Mayans ruled Central America. When Rome was formed, they wanted to trace its roots back to Greece, and an important hero to them was Hercules. There they held the erotic games, depicted on pottery. Before Rome was officially settled, the Etruscans occupied the land. Their homoerotic art was also largely sculptural and on pottery. Roman society emulated itself after the golden age of Ancient Greece. Most of homoerotic art is depicted in sculptures and on pottery. Zeus made a very public pursuit of Ganymede, the most beautiful boy on Earth, and Apollo had a lasting relationship with Hyacinth. There are two notable exceptions to this, the relationships of Achilles and Patroclus and Alexander the Great and Hephaiston. However the relationship didn’t usually last very long. Most males engaged in these types of relationships, while they were married. Their relationship was known as paiderastia, or pederasty. In Ancient Greece, an older man, called an erastes (lover) formed a relationship with an adolescent youth, called an eromenos (beloved). From Ancient Greece to the Mayans, Native Americans to the Japanese, homosexuality has been and remains an important part of the world. Because of this, artists depicted relationships between men. There wasn’t a stigma against same-sex relationships, in fact they were encouraged and considered a normal part of aging. For millennia art has represented society, and for millennia art has represented male love, or what today we call homosexuality.