Firenze Erotica

Art in fifteenth-century Florence was intended to, “arouse the viewer, excite the imagination, and encourage fantasy.” Eroticism and art were deeply connected. Yet, we have lost touch with the sensual dimension of Renaissance art. In Florence we are surrounded by nude marble bodies, erotic mythology, seductive portraits and palaces that were meant to rival the beauty of the gods. This tour will reawaken your sense of Eros, an ancient term revived in the Renaissance, and defined as an energetic charge of the universe. We will activate all our senses on this tour, engaging art as it was meant to be approached in the Renaissance.

With all five senses activated, we will explore: Why are there so many naked statues in Florence? What do the mythological subjects symbolize? What was the role of sexuality and desire in a Catholic city like Renaissance Florence? How did beauty and eroticism play into politics? What was the experience of women in Renaissance Florence?

A dialogue will open in which we examine our own relationship to themes of love, desire, sexuality, and eroticism. How did the past influence our own understanding of Eros?