Pride Month: Art History's LGBTQ+ Narratives Explored
For Pride Month, Artribune surveys art historical works depicting LGBTQ+ themes, from ancient to modern. The article highlights the love between Emperor Hadrian and Antinous, featured on the Arch of Constantine medallions, and Sappho of Lesbos with Erinna in Simeon Solomon's 1864 painting at Tate Britain. Greek vases and Pompeii frescoes show homoerotic scenes as natural. Gustave Courbet's 1866 "Le sommeil" depicts two nude women after passion, inspired by Baudelaire's poem. Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec's series portrays lesbian prostitutes in intimate moments, challenging societal prejudices. The piece contextualizes these works within the Stonewall riots starting June 28, 1969, and the subsequent Pride parades.
Key facts
- Pride Month is celebrated throughout June, commemorating the Stonewall riots that began on June 28, 1969, in New York.
- The first Pride parades started in New York the following year.
- The love between Emperor Hadrian and Antinous is depicted on medallions of the Arch of Constantine.
- Sappho of Lesbos is portrayed with Erinna in Simeon Solomon's 1864 painting at Tate Britain.
- Greek vases and Pompeii frescoes contain explicit homoerotic scenes.
- Gustave Courbet's 1866 painting 'Le sommeil' shows two nude women after a passionate encounter, inspired by Charles Baudelaire's poem 'Delphine et Hippolyte'.
- Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec created a series depicting lesbian prostitutes in intimate moments, challenging societal prejudices.
- The article is written by Desirée Maida for Artribune.
Entities
Artists
- Simeon Solomon
- Gustave Courbet
- Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
- Charles Baudelaire
- Sappho
- Erinna
- Hadrian
- Antinous
Institutions
- Artribune
- Tate Britain
Locations
- New York
- United States
- Lesbos
- Greece
- Pompeii
- Italy
- Paris
- France