Easy Virtue: Prostitution in French Art at Van Gogh Museum
The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam presents 'Easy Virtue: Prostitution in French Art, 1850-1910', an exhibition exploring the representation of prostitution in French art from the Second Empire to the Belle Époque. The show features works by Manet, Degas, Toulouse-Lautrec, Van Gogh, and others, tracing the evolution from veiled references to explicit bordello scenes. It includes rare prints and a luxurious salon bed that inspired Émile Zola's Nana. The exhibition avoids both obscenity and taboo, balancing feminist critique with the era's male gaze. It runs until June 19, 2016.
Key facts
- Exhibition titled 'Easy Virtue: Prostitution in French Art, 1850-1910' at Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam
- Runs until June 19, 2016
- Features works by Manet, Degas, Toulouse-Lautrec, Van Gogh, Louis Anquetin, Jean-Louis Forain, Félicien Rops
- Includes a bed from a luxury salon that inspired Zola's Nana
- Showcases rare erotic prints and photographs
- Addresses the regulation of prostitution in France (legalized in 1802)
- Highlights the contrast between hidden daytime prostitution and visible nightlife
- Set against Amsterdam's Red Light District controversies
Entities
Artists
- Charles Baudelaire
- Édouard Manet
- Pablo Picasso
- Edgar Degas
- Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
- Vincent van Gogh
- Louis Anquetin
- Jean-Louis Forain
- Félicien Rops
- Émile Zola
- Nöel Coward
- Giulia Meloni
Institutions
- Van Gogh Museum
- Musée d'Orsay
- Dixon Gallery and Gardens
- Artribune
Locations
- Amsterdam
- Netherlands
- Paris
- France
- Museumplein 6, Amsterdam
- Red Light District, Amsterdam