Erotic Art, (HERALD.)

Erotic Art
By Sher Core

Intimacy is one of life’s most artful forms. It’s a muse for remarkable paintings, drawing and sculpture. It’s been written about, sung about, and woven into all kinds of art. The sexual energy inside artwork is bestowed upon both the artist and the erotic art appreciator. It is expressed in the way we look at life and the manner in which we approach intimacy. What we are drawn to tells us much about ourselves. We all have our favorite forms of art in which we pick preferred pieces. Learning your own artistic preferences is important. It is just as vital as knowing what your mate likes. Branching out further and seeking art out together can give you more than a few ideas on how to add creative flare to a relationship.

Passionate Paintings: Throughout history, lustful paintings have captured the eye of the less modest. The Italian Renaissance painter Sandro Botticelli understood subtle erotica. He dealt quite a bit with classic myth, creating images of nude angels, fairies and heroes. Many artists of the Pre-Raphaelite era focused on female nudes. Take Adolph-William Bouguereau’s Evening Mood, for example. Here we have a lovely, fair-skinned maiden basking buck-naked under the moonlight. Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s Seaspell shows not just nudity, but it enchants us with its magic and mystery. The French Impressionist era certainly had its fair share of sensuality. Degas’s After the Bath, Woman Drying Herself illustrates the alluring lines of a woman’s body. Jean Renoir was prone to paint voluptuous ladies with ample breast and hips.

Decadent Drawings: Drawing is a good place to start for an aspiring erotic artist. It gives us a sense of the lines of the human body with its unique curves and indents. Many famous painters started by sketching. Pablo Picasso was one of the greats. He was shameless. His eroticism spilled like water. He bravely exposed not just a woman’s shape but up-close views of the vulva. From his earliest drawings to his late works, Picasso’s drawings depict sex in alluring and sometimes painful ways. Sex plays a part in the drawings of many renaissance artists in particular. That influence has branched out to modern works. Contemporary artists have taken drawing to new levels with the advent of erotic animation. From Japanese hentai to artists like Lorenzo Sperlonga who draws nearly lifelike large-breasted ladies.

Seductive Sculpture: In ancient Greece, sculptures of male nudes were quite popular. There is a series of Bronze Warriors depicting the strength and beauty of the male body. There are also pieces of females, including ThreeGoddesses, which shows blatant female sexuality, and Girl with Doves, which depicts a more innocent type of love. Romans were also fond of sculpture. The Doryphorus gave form to its creator’s (Polyclitus) ideal male, while the Venus De Milo is a testimony to the female form. One of the most famous erotic sculptures through history is the notorious David by Michelangelo.

Mood Music: So many songs have a direct sexual connection. Some moan longingly, such as the works of P.J. Harvey, Kate Bush, Sade, Chris Isaak and more. Much of today’s music grabs us with bold, bawdy lyrics and butt-shaking beats. Music improves our mood and adjusts our heart rates. There is no question that a magnetic melody can bring people together for dancing, socializing and intimacy.

Luscious Literature: It stands to reason that erotic literature is favored by women. Men like the visual; women want a story. One renowned author of erotic is Anais Nin. Despite the current popularity of her work, she was relatively unknown for most of her life. She was born in 1903. In the 1960s, she came to be somewhat of a cult figure due as much to her unconventional life as her poetic musings. See the Books section for more unrestrained reads.

The Life of the Artist: Scott Cahaly is a Boston area painter and sculptor. He creates remarkable works which make us think, feel, and yearn. Scott himself is a passionate person. He is a student of the female form, the curves, the positive spaces and shadows all inspire Cahaly's re-occuring depiction of women. His works sprout from that passion. He merges his inner spirituality with the beauty he sees in the female form resulting in a truly singular style. Scott’s Blue series is particularly erotic. In these paintings, couples are twisted together in intimate acts—the backdrops are mystical, yet strangely natural.