Looking at Lovemaking

What did sex mean to the ancient Romans? In this illustrated study, John R. Clarke investigates an assortment of Roman erotic art to answer this question – and along the way, he reveals a society quite different from that of modern day America. Clarke re-evaluates our understanding of Roman art and society in a study informed by gender and cultural studies, and focusing on attitudes toward the erotic among both the Roman non-elite and women. This volume is a study of erotic art and sexuality which sets these works in their ancient context and defines the differences between modern and ancient concepts of sexuality using clear visual evidence. Roman artists pictured a great range of human sexual activities – far beyond those mentioned in classical literature – including sex between men and women, men and men, women and women, men and boys, threesomes, foursomes and more. Roman citizens paid artists to decorate expensive objects, such as silver and cameo glass, with scenes of lovemaking. Erotic works were created for and sold to a broad range of consumers, from the elite to the very poor, during a period spanning the first century B.C. through the mid-third century of our era.
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Author Biography

John R. Clarke is Annie Laurie Howard Regents Professor of Art History at the University of Texas at Austin. He is the author of The Houses of Roman Italy: Ritual, Space, and Decoration (California, 1991).