Bis poles from Papua New Guinea, with one depicting anal sex between a man and a boy, in the Oceania
art section.
➤ UNHUNG HEROES, from p.30
this speaks to the size of penises in
New Guinea art,” Lear explained,
adding that the ritual was based
on the concept that “in order for
boys to become men, you have to
put sperm into them.”
Anal sex was one way to do so.
From there, the tour moves on
to the European Renaissance, fi rst
hitting the Dutch masters, where
Lear said he enjoys “pointing out
sexy parts.” There paintings of tipsy
wives with come-hither looks,
others with Mardi Gras drag, and
a variety of phallic symbols.
Also from this period is “The
Judgment of Paris” (circa 1528) by
the German painter Lucas Cranach
the Elder. The nude goddesses
Minerva, Venus, and Juno have
what Lear called “armpit breasts,”
based on how the clothing of the
era pushed breasts up and away
from the center of the chest. These
were intended to be naturalistic
depictions of women in the nude,
but similar examples of clothed
women where breasts were painted
based on where the bustline was
positioned abound, as well.
One of the more curious European
paintings on the tour, which
is also a stop on Lear’s LGBTQ Met
MICHAEL LUONGO
art tour is Italian castrato “Marcantonio
Pasqualini Crowned by
Apollo” (1641) by Andrea Sacchi.
Stepping in front of the massive
exquisite painting, Lear explained
the castrato concept — as few on
the tour seemed to know the term
— and discussed homoeroticism
in depictions of Apollo. Referring
to Apollo, he said, “One of the big
questions about this painting is,
why is that guy’s dick in the middle”
of the painting?
In some ways, that too can be
interpreted as a joke, or a comment
on the fact that Apollo “has
nuts and Marcantonio doesn’t.”
The contrast between the castrato
and the god anointing him thereby
is made unmistakable.
These are just some of the highlights,
with the art in Lear’s tour
running the gamut of the Met’s
treasures. There are of course,
plenty of penises not on the tour,
and I found a crowd ogling one
on the giant second century BCE
bronze masterpiece called simply
“Bronze statue of a man.” Having
come to the Met since I was a child,
I was reminded it had long been
among my own favorite penises in
the museum — long before any formal
tour meant I no longer had to
surreptitiously gaze at it.
© 2020 Ronald M. Dragoon
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