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METAMORPHOSIS OF LOVE: EROS AS AGENT IN REVOLUTIONARY AND POST-REVOLUTIONARY FRANCE

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Date Issued:
2017
Abstract/Description:
This thesis chronicles the god of love, Eros, and the shifts of function and imagery associated with him. Between the French Revolution and the fall of Napoleon, Eros's portrayals shift from the Rococo's mischievous infant revealer of love to a beautiful adolescent in love, more specifically, in love with Psyche. In the 1790s, with Neoclassicism in full force, the literature of antiquity was widely read by the upper class. Ancient Greek texts reveal an important facet of the god of desire; the fact that he is an agent, if not the patron, for homosexual, homoerotic love. This aspect of Eros directly collided with the heteronormative principles that existed in Revolutionary and Post-Revolutionary France, leaving French Neoclassicists with the challenge to reconcile the ancient role of Eros with the moralizing, rational ideals of society. Thus, the popularization of Eros and Psyche in French Neoclassical art exemplifies this attempt to create a heteronormative ideal couple to epitomize patriarchal France. Throughout my thesis I pose the question: How do depictions of Eros and Psyche produced in the years surrounding the French Revolution reflect the antique tastes of Neoclassical artists and the heteronormative society within which these pieces were produced?
Title: METAMORPHOSIS OF LOVE: EROS AS AGENT IN REVOLUTIONARY AND POST-REVOLUTIONARY FRANCE.
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Name(s): Laffick, Jennifer N, Author
Zaho, Margaret, Committee Chair
University of Central Florida, Degree Grantor
Type of Resource: text
Date Issued: 2017
Publisher: University of Central Florida
Language(s): English
Abstract/Description: This thesis chronicles the god of love, Eros, and the shifts of function and imagery associated with him. Between the French Revolution and the fall of Napoleon, Eros's portrayals shift from the Rococo's mischievous infant revealer of love to a beautiful adolescent in love, more specifically, in love with Psyche. In the 1790s, with Neoclassicism in full force, the literature of antiquity was widely read by the upper class. Ancient Greek texts reveal an important facet of the god of desire; the fact that he is an agent, if not the patron, for homosexual, homoerotic love. This aspect of Eros directly collided with the heteronormative principles that existed in Revolutionary and Post-Revolutionary France, leaving French Neoclassicists with the challenge to reconcile the ancient role of Eros with the moralizing, rational ideals of society. Thus, the popularization of Eros and Psyche in French Neoclassical art exemplifies this attempt to create a heteronormative ideal couple to epitomize patriarchal France. Throughout my thesis I pose the question: How do depictions of Eros and Psyche produced in the years surrounding the French Revolution reflect the antique tastes of Neoclassical artists and the heteronormative society within which these pieces were produced?
Identifier: CFH2000195 (IID), ucf:46037 (fedora)
Note(s): 2017-05-01
B.A.
College of Arts and Humanities, Visual Arts and Design
Bachelors
This record was generated from author submitted information.
Subject(s): Eros
Cupid and Psyche
Neoclassicism
France
Homoeroticism
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH2000195
Restrictions on Access: campus 2020-05-01
Host Institution: UCF

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