Ancient gay paintings

Attributed to “The Kleophrades Painter”. Tempura on wood panel. 430 BCE. Attica, Greece.

Kylix with Women Bathing

Red-figure terracotta kylix cup depicting two women setting aside their garments in preparation for bathing. Ttwo women listen while a third plays the lyre. Attic, made c. c. The kneeling woman may be grooming the other woman or anointing her with oil or perfume.

One such typical portrait shows a young wigged noble, looking like a bookish dandy showing off a copy of the Antinous relief then in Cardinal Albani’s villa.

Male homosexuality and its erotic currents played a major role in the formation and content of neoclassicism as an aesthetic. c. By the 16th century, criminalization entered the secular courts in Europe.

Cuban-born and US-based, Gonzalez-Torres created installations that involved the audience directly. c.

Tame hares and rabbits were often given as gifts during courtships, as a token of affection. 1st Century BCE.

Erotic Fresco from the Suburban Baths, Pompeii

This erotic fresco from the Suburban Baths at Pompeii depicts two women. Although traditionally assumed to be brothers, recent scholarship has suggested that they may have in fact been lovers.

Made in Vulci, Italy c. Male figures are typically shown in public roles and are given qualities of heroism, resolve, physical and moral strength. Made in Thera, Greece, c. Attributed to the Penthesilea Painter. The term LGBTQIA+ art is used here not so much for artists who identify as LGBTQIA+, but for artists who fight for LGBTQIA+ rights or whose art concerns topics directly related to LGBTQIA+ lives.

A Brief History of LGBTQIA+ Art and Rights

Artifacts and vases from ancient Greece and Mesopotamia depict homosexual relations as commonly as heterosexual relations.

Attributed to the painter Apollodorus, c. The movement was fostered by the discovery of artifacts from the Roman city of Pompeii beginning in 1748, that had been covered and preserved in lava with the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79. By the late 13th century, Christianity, Islam, and Judaism had criminalized non-heterosexual relations and non-cisgender identifications.

480 BCE. Found in Cerveteri, Italy.

Kylix with Three Pairs

Red-figure kylix depicting three pairs of individuals; two men, two women, and a man and woman. Her mother was abusive and her father left the family soon after her birth.