Winslow Homer (1836 – 1910): Snap the Whip, 1872, Oil on canvas, 56 × 91.4 cm, Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, Ohio, USA
In Goethe’s Faust, Mephistopheles takes Faust to a mountain where he witnesses a Witch’s Sabbath. The unholy meeting of demons and humans featured satanic offerings and resulted in plagues. Stories of these gatherings have a long history in European literature.
This work is scandalous by most people’s sensibilities–however, it is illustrative of contradictory attitude towards nudity in nineteenth century France and most of western society.
At a time when it was shameful to see a woman’s ankles in public, it was somehow acceptable for more-than-suggestive works featuring nudity, as long as the narrative was tied to some redeemable theme.
Faust's Vision (also known as The Departure of the Witches), 1878 by Luis Ricardo Falero
This work is scandalous by most people’s sensibilities–however, it is illustrative of contradictory attitude towards nudity in nineteenth century France and most of western society.
At a time when it was shameful to see a woman’s ankles in public, it was somehow acceptable for more-than-suggestive works featuring nudity, as long as the narrative was tied to some redeemable theme.
Faust's Vision (also known as The Departure of the Witches), 1878 by Luis Ricardo Falero