An Act of Artistic Voyeurism: It’s Sexy Being Included! Ciara Gordon

87 An Act of Artistic Voyeurism: It’s Sexy Being Included!

Ciara Gordon

Giulio Romano’s oil painting, Two Lovers (1524), is evocative as it implicates the viewer in the erotic act he depicts. The painting situates the viewer within an act of voyeurism, mirroring that of the old lady in the far right of the frame. Voyeurism implies that the act that is being observed is secluded and private for those being observed, but Romano’s painting brings the voyeur beyond observation and into the action itself. Romano implicates the viewer through his use of bright lighting, unabashed and open positioning, the figures’ gazes, and the involvement of the viewer’s own act of eroticism by the acknowledgment of the sexual content. In recognizing the sensuality of the piece, and by contemplating the two figures in this act, the viewer is imparting their own sexuality and eroticism onto the piece. Through the lovers’ exhibition, they include the viewer in their sexual act. The Two Lovers asks something of the viewer, and that is to let themselves sit in this arousal purely for the sake of pleasure. Romano does not depict the figures as engaging in an act for procreative purpose or spiritual love, but rather experiencing the empowerment of an act of desiring for the sole sake of desire.

Romano depicts the lovers and the scene brightly, highlighting the lovers against the dark canopy of their bed. The image leaves no secrets hiding in the darkness about the pair’s love affair. Using such clear lighting, Romano highlights everything going on in the painting with the intention of it being seen. The two lovers are explicitly visible, the old woman peeking around the door is visible, the bed and the sexual carvings are all visible: nothing within the painting is hiding or asking the viewer to spy any secrets in the shad-

ows. There may be some act of confidentiality within the story of the lovers themselves, but the dialogue Romano creates between the viewer and the painting is one of openness, not shame, about sexual pleasure. Their intimacy is not hiding but rather showcasing itself. In Bette Talvacchia’s translations of Pietro Aretino’s sonnets in the I Modi, she translates a lover saying: “and I know that you have had great pleasure in seeing.” 1 This specific line from Sonnet 1, is reflective of the relationship between the painting and the viewer; the viewer, through an act of voyeurism, is gaining pleasure in seeing the work, whether it be from regarding a piece of artwork or relating

to the sexual act Romano so clearly illustrates. This well-lit scene lends itself to the act of observing on part of the viewer, as it makes it more welcoming and eye-catching upon inspection. Additionally, the size of the painting is 163cm by 337cm, making the piece essentially life sized. With such clear lighting, the height of the painting makes the scene more plausible in relation to the viewer, as they are similar in stature and visibility, thus making it easier to posit themselves within the scene. The long length of the painting also takes up the viewer’s whole field of vision, further submerging them into the scene and the reality of the lovers' open intimacy through this inviting clarity.

Romano’s candid positioning of the lovers on their bed invites the viewer into a closer relationship with the contents of the painting, delving into its sacred and profane connotations of love. Additionally, the man and woman are both angling their bodies outward towards the viewer, hiding nothing and inviting the viewer’s gaze to linger over their unclothed figures that are spread as if on display. Even the old woman’s body who is not engaging in any sexual acts is facing towards the viewer. The slippers at the threshold point outwards, and the gaze of the cat faces the viewer and seems to be the only one looking out. All of these bodies and symbols invite the viewer to engage with the painting and its eroticism, but what is especially important is the gaze of each respective person: they all point to the sexual act except for the cat that is looking at

89 the viewer. The old woman is staring at the couple who in turn, are staring deeply into each other’s eyes. Their naked bodies are reminiscent of the non-materialistic embodiment of sacred love, even though sex was socially seen as purely procreative, and in that sense, their love is profane. Petrarch, in “Sonnet I” of Il Canzoniere, states that “from my vanities there comes shame’s fruit, And my repentance, and the clear awareness that worldly joy is just a fleeting dream.” 2 Petrarch wrote hundreds of love sonnets about his desire for a woman, but reframes the pure animal desire into a reformed perspective of earthly pleasure as ephemeral, and divine pleasure as

lasting. In relation to Petrarch, by painting them nude and in the form of sacred love, Romano is positing their sexual relationship and intimacy as secure and lasting. Because the object of the lovers’ desire is each other and not Christ, Romano implicitly depicts sex as an act of sexual gratification and pleasure, in opposition to the idea of sex as only a procreative earthly act. Aretino knits together the sexual act with artistry when he writes the line “I want to screw you by the book, ma’am [...] And you will say to me when I’m through that I am an artist in this sort of work.” 3 This line grounds sexual pleasure within an art form that is well-known and admired by most in early modern Europe, connecting sex with talent and social acceptance. This comparison and the openness of their bodies makes sex, and Romano’s depiction of it, feel more familiar and less shameful, further inviting the viewer into the scene and the idea of pleasurable sex as something not as taboo.

Whereas the I Modi is very vulgar and explicit, the Two Lovers seems to be the precursor to images and descriptions as such. The lovers are not fully nude or mid-coitus but rather, Romano portrays them as if they are just about to engage in their pleasurable actions. This implicates the viewer even more within the realm of sexual gratification for the purpose of pleasure as the mystery and anticipation forces the viewer to imagine what is happening, and what will happen. This encourages the viewer to project their own imagination into the piece, and situate them within the scene and how it

may happen. The painting implicates the viewer by including them in an act of arousal, whether through the imagination of erotic encounters or by eliciting a physical reaction of arousal. The painting, much like Aretino’s sonnets, exists “in honor of pricks who serve asses and pussies, and that are made of asses, pricks, and pussies, [thus the painting] resemble[s] you, dickhead readers.” 4 Romano fosters a self-reflection within the viewer concerning sexual acts, as well as a reflection upon societal standards concerning sex and the policing of pleasure. Romano’s painting is evocative and exciting in its sex positive tone.

The sonnets in Aretino’s I Modi all follow the theme of sex as an act that is pleasurable, but also enlightening for the participants. Similarly, Romano’s painting showcases the pleasure and the communication present in sex by creating a dialogue with the viewer. Within the I Modi, Aretino’s sonnets allude to a lack that sex addresses. He states that “it is really true that if the scoundrels had not eaten that traitorous fruit, I know that lovers would be able to content themselves fully.” 5 The sonnets posit sex as higher than knowledge and that it is knowledge itself, and thus the judgements held within knowledge, as what is preventing people from achieving the full potential of pleasure. Romano’s painting portrays the lovers in an act of pleasure where even in the knowledge of judgements that obstruct pleasure, they can satisfy themselves, even if not fully. By painting the lovers so forthright, it is clear the lovers know the social judgements surrounding sex, but they choose to focus more on disolving these judgements through their open nature. The painting joins together knowledge and sex, religious desire and physical desire, as it is not separating sex from religion but rather is an exploration of the body’s capacity for pleasure that Aretino depicts when he says “let’s make love right away since we are all born for this.” 6 Romano is showcasing sex as a positive act and something that need not be accompanied by shame, as sex, being such an intimate and vulnerable act, holds truthfulness and honesty.

Through Romano’s creation of an open dialogue of sex be-

91 tween the viewer and the contents of the painting, the work allows for an honesty that was lacking before. The painting slowly introduces the viewer to the idea that sex can be more than just a procreative action. By involving the viewer so directly in his painting, Romano fosters a collaborative shift toward the idea that sex may be for pleasure, reintroudcing a narrative of sex positivity and communication. Giulio Romano uses lighting, bodies, and viewer interaction as a way of openly commenting on sex and the positive experiences that stem from it. The evocative and erotic nature of the painting implicates the viewer in the act of arousal, and thus allows for self-reflection and the exploration of a more sex positive position.

1 Bette Talvacchia, “Appendix B,” in Taking Positions: on the erotic in Renaissance culture (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press,1999), pp 227. 2 Francesco Petrarca, “Sonnet I,” in Il Canzoniere. 3 Bette Talvacchia, “Appendix B,” in Taking Positions: on the erotic in Renaissance culture (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press,1999), pp 211. 4 Bette Talvacchia, “Appendix B,” in Taking Positions: on the erotic in Renaissance cul

ture (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press,1999), pp 227. 5 Bette Talvacchia, “Appendix B,” in Taking Positions: on the erotic in Renaissance culture (Princeton,NJ: Princeton University Press,1999), pp 199. 6 Bette Talvacchia, “Appendix B,” in Taking Positions: on the erotic in Renaissance culture (Princeton,NJ: Princeton University Press,1999), pp 199.

Giulio Romano, 1499-1546, The Lovers, 1525, Oil on panel, 163 x 337 cm, The Hermitage, St. Petersburg.

Bette Talvacchia, “Appendix B,” in Taking Positions: on the erotic in Renaissance culture (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press,1999) Giulio Romano, Two Lovers, (1524) Francesco Petrarca, “Sonnet I,” Il Canzoniere