Leyendecker: It’s all about the gaze

emArt, History & People, Mixed & Random 1 Comment

J.C. Leyendecker was one of the most successful American illustrators of the early 1900s. His covers for The Saturday Evening Post were a great inspiration to Norman Rockwell, and he is credited with popularizing the modern images of Santa Claus and the New Year Baby.

But he is most well-known for illustrating The Arrow Collar Man, a dashing, sophisticated mascot for shirt collars, who was so adored he received love letters. What his fans didn’t know was that Charles Beach, the model for the advertising celebrity, was also Leyendecker’s lover who lived with the artist until his death. Read more…

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The art of Takato Yamamoto

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Takato Yamamoto was born in Akita Prefecture (Japan) in 1960. After graduating from the painting department of the Tokyo Zokei University, he experimented with the Ukiyo-e Pop style. He further refined and developed that style to create his “Heisei estheticism” style. His first exhibition was held in Tokyo, in 1998.

The Warren Cup

emArt, History & People 17 Comments

2000 years old, worth £1.8 million, banned from the US, not publicly exhibited until 1999. Meet history’s most expensive piece of gay porn: The Warren Cup

One side depicts a man (the active participant or erastes) engaging in anal sex with a young man (the catamite, eromenos, or passive participant), who lowers himself onto the erastes using a rope or support from the ceiling in roughly the modern sexual position of reverse cowgirl. Meanwhile a boy, perhaps a slave, watches surreptitiously from behind a door — the inferior status of a slave in Roman eyes would make him suitable to this role of voyeur.

The other side depicts a young man and a boy making love. Both scenes also include draped textiles in the background, as well as a kithara (lyre) in the former scene and auloi (pipes) in the latter. These, along with the careful delineation of ages and status and the wreaths worn by the youths, all suggest a cultured, elite, Hellenised setting with music and entertainment.

If you’d like to learn more about the context, history and interesting journey of the cup, check out the Queer as Fact episode below or on Spotify.

 

The Adventures of Alix

emArt, Comics & Manga 5 Comments

Alix is a French-Belgian comic series created by Jacques Martin in 1948. It may be considered the serious, historically accurate counterpart to the more famous Asterix, which it actually predates. It is a classic example of the ligne claire school popularized by Hergé.

The title character is a young Gaul from the 1st century BCE who, after being captured and enslaved, is adopted by a rich Roman and becomes a Roman citizen himself. He goes through various adventures that take him all over The Roman Republic and beyond—at one point, all the way to Han Dynasty China—and becomes a friend of Julius Caesar. His sidekick is a teenage Egyptian boy, Enak, and his nemesis is a scheming Greek named Arbaces.

In 2012, a sequel series came out titled Alix Senator. As the name implies, it takes place several years later, with Julius Caesar long dead, Alix now a Roman Senator, and Enak having disappeared long ago. (Text from TV Tropes)

Muse Monday *13

emArt, Muse Monday 1 Comment

Art by Sabs | Check out more of their art here too 😊

It was a humid summer morning as the Naturalist trekked down towards the valley’s floor in search of a fae. It was perhaps late in the season for such an encounter, but it was to be his last day in the region, and he felt lucky – and the Naturalist had learned long ago not to ignore such premonitions. The air was heavy of the richness of gardenia, and birdsong echoed from one of the numerous trees.

Resting his travel pack against the trunk of the willow, the Naturalist settled himself between the roots and freed his swelling shaft from his trousers. His fist closed around his member, slowly stroking himself to hardness. The Naturalist was thick, with dark, curling hair nestled around two heavy balls. His eyes flickered shut, relaxing into the sensation of rising pleasure.

Read on…