Voyeurism: The Art of Watching and the Pleasure of Being Watched
February 28, 2025
The Trial of Giuliana Napolitana: When a Courtesan Won the Crowd and the Court
March 21, 2025
In 16th-century Rome, something happened that would put today’s sex scandals to shame.
Artist Marcantonio Raimondi engraved 16 explicit sexual positions based on sketches by Giulio Romano, a student of Raphael. But these weren’t just erotic images—they were a visual revolution.
Ancient gods, nymphs, and heroes locked in wild, passionate embraces, drawn with such detail that even today, they’d make censors sweat. Back then? It was a ticking time bomb.
When Pope Clement VII saw the engravings, he went into a frenzy. The works were banned, Raimondi was thrown in jail, and every copy was ordered to be destroyed. But banning something only makes it more desirable.
That’s when Pietro Aretino, the filthiest, most scandalous writer of his time, stepped in. He wrote 16 raunchy, no-holds-barred sonnets, one for each position. The result? The first fully illustrated erotic book in history.
Censorship failed. The book went underground, copies circulated, whispers turned into legends. Today, “I Modi” is considered lost, but its influence never disappeared.
This was a manifesto of flesh, desire, and art refusing to be tamed. It was the first battle for erotic freedom in art. The church burned the pages, but the idea lived on.
Because lust is eternal.
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