July 13, 1996 to July 21, 2002
Fogg Art Museum (more about the Fogg) 

Apparition by Moreau, 1943.1268

One common perception of the 19th century is that it was an era of strict propriety, often masking secret vice. The intention behind this installation is to bypass the prurience and ethical self-congratulation implicit in such a view and to demonstrate how the arts of this period in Europe and North America engaged unapologetically with the senses. In doing so, they helped define various arenas of social and personal life, such as worship, the service of food and drink, and bodily adornment, as well as the integrally related construction of sexuality.

The paintings and objects exhibited have been selected for the sensual—often erotic—charge they convey when viewed together as artifacts for the construction of sexuality, both female and male. This reinstallation, largely drawn from the permanent collection, explores 19th-century sensuality, its involvement in the use of devotional objects, tableware, and jewelry, and appeals to it through representations of the male and female body. Included are paintings by Ingres, Burne-Jones, Moreau, and Sargent, among others, and Rodin's marble sculpture The Eternal Idol.

Sublimations is organized by Ivan Gaskell, Margaret S. Winthrop Curator of Paintings.