This artwork is one of the most scandalous examples of 19th century erotic satire. Heinrich Lossow was a respectable painter by day but he also created a secret portfolio of explicit images for private collectors. This specific piece depicts a scene that mocks the church. We see a monk and a nun separated by the heavy iron bars of a monastery gate.
Despite the physical barrier meant to keep them apart the two figures engage in a frantic sexual act through the grid. The image is not just about the act itself but about the failure of suppression. It suggests that human nature and biological urges are powerful enough to overcome stone walls and iron cages.
For decades this image was hidden away in private drawers. It serves as a critique of forced celibacy and religious hypocrisy. Lossow shows us that the strictest laws often create the most desperate and inventive forms of rebellion.
Heinrich Lossow; The Sin (Die Versündigung) / Erotica Portfolio; c. 1880; Colored Lithograph / Drawing; Dimensions variable (Cabinet size); Private Collection; Location Unknown
why it's art
This artwork is one of the most scandalous examples of 19th century erotic satire. Heinrich Lossow was a respectable painter by day but he also created a secret portfolio of explicit images for private collectors. This specific piece depicts a scene that mocks the church. We see a monk and a nun separated by the heavy iron bars of a monastery gate.
Despite the physical barrier meant to keep them apart the two figures engage in a frantic sexual act through the grid. The image is not just about the act itself but about the failure of suppression. It suggests that human nature and biological urges are powerful enough to overcome stone walls and iron cages.
For decades this image was hidden away in private drawers. It serves as a critique of forced celibacy and religious hypocrisy. Lossow shows us that the strictest laws often create the most desperate and inventive forms of rebellion.
Heinrich Lossow; The Sin (Die Versündigung) / Erotica Portfolio; c. 1880; Colored Lithograph / Drawing; Dimensions variable (Cabinet size); Private Collection; Location Unknown
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