Male Homosexuality in Western Art: From Ancient Rome to the 20th Century

A DailyArt Magazine article surveys representations of male homosexuality in Western art across historical periods, from ancient Rome to the 20th century. The Warren Cup (5–15 CE) at the British Museum depicts a Roman banquet scene involving an older man and a beardless youth, reflecting common practices in Roman high society. During the Middle Ages, the Catholic Church condemned same-sex relations, as seen in a 1220s Bible moralisée manuscript at the Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, and Dante placed sodomites in the 7th circle of Hell. In Renaissance Florence, male-male relations remained common despite penalties. Caravaggio and Michelangelo are cited for homoerotic elements in their work, with scholar Howard Hibbard noting Caravaggio's use of homoerotic hints. From the 17th to 19th centuries, explicit visual evidence was scarce due to Counter-Reformation and Victorian restraints; artists relied on mythological or religious motifs like Ganymede and Saint Sebastian, and underground prints such as an 1884 illustration by Léo Taxil depicting a Molly house. The 20th century brought liberation: artists like Robert Mapplethorpe (Larry and Bobby Kissing, 1979, at MoMA) and Will McBride faced censorship and legal obstacles. The Stonewall riots of 1969 and the AIDS crisis of the 1980s spurred visibility and activism.