Antiquity
- In Ancient Rome, why would “beautiful but bad-tempered” sound like nonsense?
- What did the oiling rituals of Olympic athletes have in common with today’s luxury fashion campaigns?
Medieval Period
- Why were medieval portraits of women designed to erase every trace of desire?
- How did the Church turn a woman’s face away from the viewer in the name of morality?
Renaissance
- Why did Renaissance portraits suddenly look straight at us, as if flirting across centuries?
- In Renaissance Florence, r*pe was legally tolerated — how did that change the positioning of women in society and art?
Baroque & 17th–18th Century
- Why did Caravaggio scandalize Rome by painting the Madonna with cleavage?
- Why did Venetian women hide behind Moretta masks — modesty or erotic provocation?
- What did Rubens’ voluptuous women reveal about wealth, sex, and power?
Victorian Era & Fin de Siècle
- Why did Victorian women lace their corsets tighter while secretly buying pornography?
- How did lingerie turn into a weapon against social hypocrisy?
- Why did Egon Schiele’s women gaze directly at us, enjoying their own pleasure — and why was that seen as dangerous?
Modern & Contemporary
- Why did Otto Dix portray a female journalist with the severity of a general?
- Why does Jenny Saville transform flesh into a battlefield?
- How did Jeff Koons turn pornography into a luxury collectible?
These — and many more captivating questions — we will explore to understand how sexuality and female allure evolved through history, and how that helps us be more honest in evaluating desire and beauty today, and in the future.
