A brief look at the erotic in Fine Art – to bring us to Coco De Mer

Anthony Wenyon selects the most seductive paintings in art’s history and draws contrasts with Coco de Mer’s aesthetics of desire

Whilst idealised notions of beauty have changed over the centuries – Ruben’s overly voluptuous nudes no longer resonate in quite the same way as in the 16^th century, certain artists over time have captured a universal sense of beauty. Certain artists have charged their painting with a timeless eroticism.

We look at the works that instill an instant impulse of desire and observe how artists achieve this. We see the powerful, strong and seductive woman is the most alluring, the most irresistible. We are all effected this way. British brand Coco de Mer understands this, distilling the ingredients of universal empowerment and pleasure into its beautiful creations.

The French novelist Honoré de Balzac, one of the great cultural thinkers of the 19^th century, suggested that eroticism was dependent on the culture of the time. Coco de Mer embodies sophisticated eroticism today. A mix of sensuality, fashion and a flirtation with the darker side of desire in our times.

We start with Gustav Klimt a Viennese artist whose central theme was the beauty of women. He put bewitching eroticism center stage, with women in the lead role. The Femme Fatale.

In the late 1800’s Vienna was a flourishing city known for splendid banquets and an inordinate love of pleasure. Klimt painted wealthy Viennese socialite beauty Adele Bloch-Bauer in Judith I (below) in 1901. She is depicted as Judith, the biblical heroine who seduced and killed Assyrian General Holofernes in order to save her home city.

One of the most erotic paintings in art’s history, her orgasmic expression is suggestive of the pleasure she takes in wielding her sensual power to achieve her noble objectives. The decorated gold choker she wares (the height of fashion at the time) and the translucent decorated fabric concealing and revealing in equal measure heightening her extraordinary seductive aura.

Poppaea Sabina, a Roman temptress, was ambitious as she was beautiful. She used her extraordinarily beauty to satisfy her lust for power. Through seduction, intrigue and intellect she rose from relatively modest beginnings to become Empress of Rome, marrying Nero in AD 63.

The School of Fontainebleau was established by Francois I of France in c.1530 to develop France’s late renaissance painting – allegory, mythological iconography and a good degree of eroticism. The c.1550-1560 depiction of Sabina (below) from an artist of the school captures perfectly the power of supremely delicate translucent fabrics to accentuate beauty and sensuality. They bring mystery, both inviting and alluding. It is easy to see how Nero was powerless against the force of such a woman.

Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, a French Neo-classical artist of the 19^th century, sought to capture the sublime – noble elegance and beauty – in his art, as Raphael had done during the Renaissance. His captivating 1814 work La Gande Odalisque (below) depicts great luxury and even decadence, harmonised and softened through the restrained colour palate of cool blues. A fantasy image of exotic romantic ideals (unusual for the more ridged Neo-classical tradition).

The extreme sensuality of the work derives from the long beautiful curved lines but in particular the contrasts of textures of pleasure – the softness of her skin, the peacock feathers of her exotic fan, the fur and the silk fabrics. Together a mind blowing combination, instilling deep desires, made all the more tantalising by the sense of distance Ingres sets between the nude and the viewer. Her back is turned. Her eye contact, whilst engaging the viewer also hints at a confident indifference.

Max Ernst, one of the leading surrealist artist’s working most prominently between the wars, created an erotic fantasy in his 1940 work The Robing of the Bride (below). Phallic symbolism of the poised spearhead pointing directly at the bride, the sensual figure of the accompanying maiden in a delicate lacy headdress in an intense purple suggestive of the fleeting pleasures of a butterfly, living only for a summer.

Edouard Manet’s 1865 Olympia (below) was a landmark work. It showed for the first time a real woman, not an idealised beauty in the guise of the goddess Venus, but, in relative terms, a somewhat imperfect beauty. The picture was unquestionably all the more erotic for this and as such caused a scandal at the time. There were no excuses for an audience. She was confronting, thinking and direct. The connection her gaze makes is powerful and compelling for those confident enough to engage. This speaks to Balzac’s more modern interpretation of the erotic.

Francisco Goya’s two masterworks from around 1800 (below) show the same woman, clothed and undressed in the same pose reclining on the same bed. Even when dressed, the subject’s seductive allures are clear, brining to mind the Femme Fatale of Georges Bizet’s opera Carmen in the mid-19th century. As with Manet’s Olympia, the connecting gaze is central to the painting. The titillating nude version was the first image in western art to depict a woman’s pubic hair – common in today’s edgier fashion and art imagery.

Giorgione’s 1510 sensuous Venus (below) is one of the most significant paintings in western art. It was the first painting of a nude of this size as a single subject and for this reason has been considered by some to mark one of the starting points of modern art. The erotic implications of Venus’ hand placed between her legs – rather than simply covering herself for modesty reasons – are clear. She is in her own world, recollecting the act of love. The picture is all the more sensuous for the hills in the background following the profile of the nude.

Another great work from the School of Fontainebleau, Two Ladies Bathing (below) has been interpreted differently by many critics. The Louvre refuse to acknowledge erotic overtones, but many commentators do, for obvious reasons. The School of Fontainebleau was certainly sensually inclined. The scene is nonetheless an intimate affair within the secluded quarters of the ladies – a very luxurious and private setting.

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