Donatello (circa 1386 – December 13, 1466)

Donatello was the finest sculptor of the fifteenth century. He revived and refined the art of classical sculpture in the round, and many of his works are explicitly homoerotic. His David is lissome and his St. George became emblematic of beauty for admirers of the male form.

Donatello was notorious for his love of boys. A surviving story has him chasing, with murderous intent, a young thief, whose beauty winds up charming the artist into forgiveness on sight.

Florentine scholar POLIZIANO, in his book Detti piacevoli, recorded several jokes concerning Donatello’s relationships with young male servants. He noted that the sculptor hired particularly attractive boys, and “stained” them so that no one else would want them; another anecdote was about an assistant who left Donatello after a fight, and how they made up by “laughing” at each other—contemporary slang for having sex.

Main works
"St. Mark" (1411–1413), Orsanmichele, Florence
St. George Tabernacle (c. 1415–1417) — Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Florence
"Prophet Habacuc" (1423–1425) — Museo dell'Opera del Duomo, Florence
"The Feast of Herod" (c. 1425) — Baptismal font, Baptistry of San Giovanni, Siena
"David" (c. 1425–1430) — Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Florence
"Equestrian Monument of Gattamelata" (1445–1450) — Piazza del Santo, Padua
"Magdalene Penitent" (c. 1455) — Museo dell'Opera del Duomo, Florence
"Judith and Holofernes" (1455–1460) — Palazzo Vecchio, Florence
"Virgin and Child with Four Angels" or "Chellini Madonna" (1456), Victoria and Albert Museum



( Read more... )

Stern, Keith (2009-09-01). Queers in History: The Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Historical Gays, Lesbians and Bisexuals (Kindle Locations 4407-4415). Perseus Books Group. Kindle Edition.

( Further Readings )

More Artists at my website: http://www.elisarolle.com/, My Ramblings/Art

Best Gay Mystery / Thriller: Pressure Head by J.L. Merrow

Very nice small town mystery with an heavy English flavor, so much that you could almost “smell” it (and no pun intended with Tom’s job as a plumber).

Tom and Phil were in school together but they weren’t friend, actually Phil was bullying Tom for being gay after Tom eyed Phil in the locker room. Now that is not a from enemies to lovers story, Tom pretty much forget about Phil until the day Phil decides to come back home. Sure, Tom has a permanent memento of the man, the slightly limping he has got as a consequence of a car accident he was in while trying to run away from yet another pestering from Phil and his friends, but Tom doesn’t bear any grudge on Phil; not the same for Phil that apparently feels guilty.

The mystery was a good one, small as the small village in which it unravels, not so difficult to figure it out, cause, well, Tom likes or dislikes of people were pretty clear. But the good thing was that every single character, guilty or not, had its own personal story and it was fleshed out enough to have the reader care for them.

Tom was a very nice hero, and yes, even a plumber could be an hero, and his humor in facing everything was refreshing and cute; I really loved that the author didn’t push too much on the psychic ability of Tom, she used them just for what it was needed in the story, but she didn’t center the plot around it. Tom wasn’t his special gift, he was just another English bloke, living in a small town and searching for love.

Just a note on two of the most important supporting characters of all the story, Merlin and Arthur… Tom’s cats! I may be wrong, but I saw a reflection of Tom and Phil in the two, Merlin a feline version of Tom, and Arthur of Phil, not only in their physical characteristics, but also in the attitude.

Paperback: 256 pages
Publisher: Samhain Publishing (August 6, 2013)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1619213621
ISBN-13: 978-1619213623
Amazon: Pressure Head
Amazon Kindle: Pressure Head



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