Today's masterpieces were once considered 'crossing the line' paintings. When did people start to accept these works as art rather than obscenity?
The new book History of Crossing Boundaries in Art traces the history of art and censorship surrounding nude paintings from the late 19th century modernism era, exploring the precarious boundaries of 'crossing the line' in art.
For a long time, Western nude art depicted beautiful and idealized bodies, often wrapped in mythological or religious narratives. However, as modernity emerged, some artists began to express the human body and desires candidly. These works sparked debates at the intersection of art and obscenity, leading to artists facing trials or having their works confiscated.
Egon Schiele was arrested in 1912 for creating explicit nude paintings. His works, which openly revealed distorted human forms and raw sexual desires, were even burned in court. Yet, what was once labeled 'pornographic' has now been elevated to masterpieces of modern art, displayed in major museums worldwide and sold for millions of dollars.
The book features stories of artists such as Egon Schiele, Gustav Klimt, Édouard Manet, Gustave Courbet, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, and Amedeo Modigliani. Despite being arrested, ridiculed, and targeted by collective violence, they did not abandon their artistic beliefs. The book vividly illustrates how their works gradually gained freedom and became immortal.
Author Lee Ji-ho notes that the boundaries between art and obscenity have changed over time, but ultimately, it is people who define those boundaries. While judges and religious figures once held this power, today, platform regulations and algorithms also serve as new standards of censorship. He emphasizes that 'the criteria for censorship are still determined and applied by human judgment' and poses the question, 'What perspective should we adopt?'
"In 1857, Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom faced a new 'artistic problem' when she entered the sculpture gallery of the Victoria and Albert Museum in South Kensington, London. More precisely, she encountered a pair of enormous testicles and a drooping penis on the plaster sculpture 'David.' This 'too human anatomy' was excessively explicit for the queen, who valued chastity and restraint, as well as for the moral standards of the Victorian era. The solution was surprisingly simple: a detachable 'fig leaf' sculpture was created to cover 'David's genitals.' This artificial leaf was carefully placed over the artwork whenever the royal family visited the museum." (Chapter 1: The Birth of Obscenity, Who Decides What is Obscene?)
* This article has been translated by AI.
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