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During this LGBTQ+ History Month, we reflect on the rich history of LGBTQ+ people in art. Many artists throughout the years identified with the LGBTQ+ community and have used their art to reflect on love that, for centuries, was made illegal.
The way LGBTQ+ people and relationships have been depicted throughout the years has shifted massively. This community has claimed their space in art from the very beginning, from subtle hints to explicit celebrations of intimacy.
Sappho and Erinna in a Garden at Mytilene is an 1864 painting by Simeon Solomon depicting Greek poet Sappho embracing her fellow poet Erinna. Sappho is famed for her enigmatic fragments of poems that have been preserved throughout the centuries, with the most complete poem asking the Greek goddess of love, Aphrodite, for help in her romantic relationship with a woman.
This painting shows Sappho and Erinna embracing on a bench, with Sappho identifiable through the lines of discarded poetry on her right. Two doves sit between her and Erinna symbolising their love. Erinna and Sappho are contrasted against one another, Sappho with her dark hair and harsher lines, Erinna dressed in pink with an exposed shoulder.
Simeon Solomon was closely associated with the Pre-Raphaelites and was particularly drawn to Sappho's story due to his own homosexuality. However, at a time when homosexuality was a criminal offence, Solomon was arrested in 1873 and was an outcast of the artistic community.
Many of Frida Kahlo's self-portraits and artworks referred to her bisexuality. Two Nudes in a Forest, one of Kahlo's most famous paintings, features two naked women, and some theorise that one of the women featured in this painting is Dolores del Rio, a beautiful Hollywood starlet who was rumoured to be one of Diego Rivera's lovers.
Many of Kahlo's other artworks reference her sexuality and personal life. What The Water Gave Me is known as an autobiographical painting depicting Kahlo's life, love, and loss. Symbols are scattered around the artwork, with damage being focused over her right leg, on which she had many operations for her health issues. The figures from Two Nudes in a Forest reappear in this painting, referencing her bisexuality again, and throughout the other symbolism - including an empty Mexican dress, a nude bather, and an erupting volcano - Kahlo explored the trauma of her existence.
Another painting, Self-Portrait With Cropped Hair, sees Kahlo seated amongst the hair locks that she has cut off. She sits in a chair with a pair of scissors on her lap, calm and assured, wearing a suit and embracing the more masculine side of herself.
Robert Mapplethorpe was an American photographer famed for his controversial images. Mainly focusing on the gay male BDSM subculture of New York, Mapplethorpe photographed many gay men in many different scenarios.
Two Men Dancing is an elegant black-and-white photograph focusing on two men dancing in each other's arms. Both are wearing crowns, and one man rests his head on the other's shoulder. The two men are shirtless, suggesting a certain vulnerability and tenderness, juxtaposing both the hard and the gentle with defined lines and monochrome colours.
This picture is one of Mapplethorpe's less explicit works, with many of his photographs featuring explicit images exploring sexuality and censorship. His pictures often generated massive controversy, with his exhibition The Perfect Moment becoming the centre of a media firestorm in the late 1980s.
Mapplethorpe himself was in a relationship with art curator Sam Wagstaff for fifteen years. Although the relationship gradually changed to friendship rather than romance, Wagstaff also doubled as his patron, providing Mapplethorpe with studio space to develop his work. Mapplethorpe was also romantically involved with Jack Fritscher, who introduced him to the Mineshaft, a gay club in Manhatten where he took many pictures.
Zanele Muholi is a South African artist who documents and celebrates the lives of black gay, lesbian, transexual and intersex communities.
Their first solo exhibition was launched in 2004, entitled Visible Sexuality: Only Half the Picture, and featured photographs of rape and hate crime survivors. The photos are carefully framed so as not to reveal the subject's gender, and Muholi gives LGBTQ+ people a strong voice without compromising their anonymity.
One of the images from Only Half the Picture is entitled Ordeal and is a close-up shot of someone wringing out a cloth over a bowl of water. It is implied by the title and the action shown that the person is washing their body after a traumatic incident. Another photograph in this series is called Bra and is a tightly framed shot that focuses on a white lace bra and hairy chest. Each image is shot to protect the subject's identity while also providing a profoundly insightful look into the trauma and lives of the LGBTQ+ community.
Muholi's work is still ongoing and provides a vital voice to communities that do not have one. Despite LGBTQ+ people having their rights enshrined into the constitution, they still face violence and discrimination in South Africa today, particularly black LGBTQ+ people.
Throughout history, the depiction of LGBTQ+ people in art has changed and shifted with the sands of time. In the 19th century, there was no room for depictions of love between LGBTQ+ people, but artists like Simeon Solomon boldly painted them regardless. Even during the early 20th century, artists such as Frida Kahlo were not shy about painting about their same-sex attraction.
During the cultural revolution of the 1970s and 80s, artists began to push the boundaries of art to new levels. Robert Mapplethorpe especially was at the vanguard of this movement, taking explicit photos of gay men and highlighting the experiences of the gay community during a time when many fought against their rights.
Today, art allows much more room for expressions of LGBTQ+ love and experiences, and artists like Zanele Muholi use their work to push for greater acceptance and document the lives of black, LGBTQ+, and South African people.
By granting people a greater insight into their intimate lives, artists who bring LGBTQ+ experiences and relationships into the public eye carry on a legacy starting centuries ago: celebrating LGBTQ+ life and love.
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