History of Art: Erotica in Art

Looking at Lovemaking: Constructions of Sexuality in Roman Art 100 B.C. to A.D. 250. By John R. Clarke. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1998,

John R. Clarke's Looking at Lovemaking is an important addition to scholarly discourse on the subject of sexuality in the Roman world. The book focuses on the visual record of sexual imagery that was produced in Rome and its provinces from 100 B.C. to A.D. 250. Clarke seeks to recover the significance that these sexual images had for ancient Roman viewers by analyzing their imagery and studying the varied environments in which the imagery was displayed. The author is particularly interested in recovering the meaning that these images had for observers such as women and the nonelite members of Roman society, whose viewpoints are not represented in extant written sources.
Another issue is the question of the ancient sources. The authors of the texts were generally men who were members of the Roman elite or those who worked for them. In contrast with the narrow category of authors of the surviving written texts, Clarke sees the visual record as providing a far wider category of evidence for Roman views on sexuality. The visual record was created by artists working for a wide variety of patrons, and was displayed in a wide variety of contexts. Because it was produced for such a varied audience, Clarke believes that visual objects are a much more inclusive record of Roman views on sexuality than written records.

In a book filled with interesting and illuminating analyses, two sections are particularly interesting: the Augustan and early Julio-Claudian periods, and Pompeii in the Neronian and Flavian periods. In the section on the sexual imagery of the Augustan and Julio-Claudian era Clarke uses evidence such as the Warren cup, Arrentine ware, cameo glass, and wall paintings from Rome to reach conclusions about how Romans might have interpreted scenes of male-male and male-female lovemaking.
The book is wide-ranging and contains many areas of interest for the study of sexuality in the ancient world. The author first explores the Greek and Hellenistic periods, which were a source of motifs and models for the later Roman works. This is followed by sections on the Augustan and Julio-Claudian periods, the city of Pompeii in the Neronian and Flavian periods, and works from Italy and the provinces in the first through the third centuries. The evidence that Clark explores includes silver vessels, pottery known as Arrentine ware, wall paintings, lamps, and other objects.Before turning to the imagery, the book opens with a discussion of the author's methodology and the challenges inherent in the study of Roman sexuality and sexual imagery. One of the first issues that confronts the historian is the question of whether sexuality is culturally determined or "constructed" through learned behavior and a set of commonly held beliefs, or if there are universal or "essential" elements to sexuality that would allow the historian to apply twentieth-century concepts such as heterosexuality or homosexuality to the study of Roman sexuality and sexual imagery.
Turning first to male-male imagery, Clarke discusses the Warren cup, Arrentine ceramic bowls, and cameo glass vessels to draw several conclusions. He notes that buyers from a variety of economic levels bought vessels decorated with scenes of male-male lovemaking. Cameo glass could only be bought by the very wealthy, the value of silver is not known with certainty but it was probably used by the upper classes, and Arrentine ware was produced for the mass market. He speculates that both men and women would have used vessels decorated with scenes of male-male lovemaking. The Warren cup, with its fine craftsmanship, would have been admired and appreciated by both sexes. He notes that it is works in silver such as the Warren cup that would have been the inspiration for the mass-produced Arrentine ware. Clarke also sees a certain intimacy and tenderness between the male partners on both the Warren cup and the Arrentine ware that is also seen in scenes of male-female lovemaking. Clarke concludes this section with a discussion of what the Roman viewer might have thought about these scenes of male-male lovemaking.
Clarke next examines scenes of male-female lovemaking, for which his evidence is primarily wall paintings and Arrentine bowls. Clarke turns first to the Farnesina wall paintings, which are high-quality frescos from a villa in Rome. The frescos depict an architectural framework with a large central image below four smaller images. The small images imitate panel paintings, and a number depict scenes of male-female lovemaking. Clarke argues that these small paintings are meant to be decorative and to evoke a collection of Greek artworks. The viewer sees upper-class, leisurely lovemaking in a luxury setting. Scenes of lovemaking are a part of elite decorative choices.
Turning to Arrentine ware, Clarke sees the male-female imagery on the bowls as reflecting upper-class models such as the Farnesina paintings. He does note that explicit sexual activity such as that on the Arrentine bowls is not found in these wall paintings, and may represent the artist offering a choice of imagery to the buyer. But, in spite of the more explicit nature of the Arrentine bowls, the models are found in scenes of "high art" lovemaking such as that found in the frescos. Clarke goes on to discuss the subjective experience of the various viewers of the Arrentine bowls. He sees this imagery, and related Augustan imagery such as the Warren cup and the cameo glass examples, as depicting a fundamentally new representation of lovemaking that focused on a more tender and intimate attitude toward lovemaking.
The second major area that Clarke covers are the wall paintings from Pompeii of the Neronian and Flavian periods (A.D. 54-79). Clarke cites a number of works depicting male-female lovemaking displayed in private houses. He analyzes the imagery, which shows a variety of sexual activities, and reconstructs the placement of the paintings in the houses. Rather than seeing the works as hidden away or as an indication of secluded rooms where sexual activity took place, Clarke argues that the paintings were in rooms associated with the entertaining or reception of guests. Decorating these rooms with scenes of lovemaking would be part of a decorative scheme that reflected the artistic tastes of wealthy Romans such as those who owned the Farnesina villa. Display of scenes of lovemaking was related to the decorative choices of the elite.The next section deals with scenes of lovemaking in public buildings. Particularly interesting are the paintings from the Suburban baths and their interpretation by Clarke. The paintings are eight scenes of lovemaking that become progressively more complex with each scene. These scenes are found in the bath's dressing room that was used by members of both sexes. Because the room was used by both men and women it is important evidence for reconstructing how women would have reacted to the sexual imagery. Clarke speculates that the scenes would have had a comic effect, and that viewers of both sexes and of varied social status would have reacted with laughter to the scenes.
Clarke's analysis outlined above, with its emphasis on reconstructing points of view that are not found in the extant written sources, is a valuable approach that widens the field of investigation into ancient sexuality. Clarke's approach also points out some of the challenges that scholars face in this area. Because there is often no written evidence that can be used to interpret the scenes, Clarke must sometimes attempt to reconstruct what viewers thought on the basis of very subjective interpretations of the evidence.Clarke's book joins a number of recent works that use a theoretical framework to explore Greek and Roman sexuality. These works include the groundbreaking works by Foucault (1978) and Boswell (1980). Other contributors to this field include Fredrick (1995), Richlin (1992), and Koloski-Ostrow and C. Lyons (1997).Looking at Lovemaking is a important addition to this recent theoretical scholarship and contains informative material for a wide variety of readers. The book will certainly prove a useful resource for any reader interested in the study of ancient sexuality.

REFERENCES

Boswell, J. (1980). Christianity, social tolerance, and homosexuality. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Foucault, M. (1978). The history of sexuality (Vols. 1-3) (R. Hurley, Trans.). New York: Pantheon Books.Fredrick, D. (1995). Beyond the atrium to Ariadne: Erotic painting and visual pleasures in the Roman house. Classical Antiquity, 14, 266-287.Koloski-Ostrow, A., & Lyons, C. (Eds.). (1997). Naked truths: Women, sexuality and gender in classical art and archaeology. London: Routledge.