6 examples of Censorship in Art

It is often said that art should be free, a genuine expression of the human mind. However, this is clearly not the case. Throughout the history of humanity, art has been subject to censorship, whether for “crossing” the limits of morality, religion, politics or, simply, “good taste.”

Until the end of the 18th century, the artist was not free. He had to create his works based on guidelines; In fact, more than an artist, he was a craftsman, producing commissioned works, just as a cobbler made shoes or a basket maker made baskets. With the advent of the appreciation of art as a “noble” activity, and, especially, with the Romanticism and its fury for the freedom of the individual, the artist became someone who created at her craving. However, even so, her work remained subject to public opinion and censorship by government, religion and society.

In today's article we review 6 examples of censorship in art. As we will see, not all of them are so far removed from our time, which makes us wonder if, in reality, we have changed that much.

6 examples of censorship in art

The nude (mainly the female) has been the target par excellence throughout the history of art. In ancient Greece it was very rare to find nude female sculptures; Later, with the birth of the academies (already in the 18th century), nudes were only allowed with certain “excuses”: mythological characters, allegories, anatomical studies, etc.

In no case of a sexual nature, of course. But not only sex and the naked body have been the subject of censorship in art. We also find cases of censorship for “attacking” religion, “good taste” or, of course, against political precepts. Below, you will find a list of 6 works of art that were censored for one of these reasons and a brief explanation of how the controversy developed.

1. The Cloths of the Last Judgment

This is a classic example of censorship of the naked human body. Let us remember that these figures had been painted by Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564) by order of Pope Paul III, more than two decades after the famous Sistine vault. Giorgio Vasari tells in his Lives that Biagio da Cesena, the master of ceremonies at the Vatican, did not stop protesting to the pope about the “immorality” of nudity, in his opinion, inappropriate for a chapel.

The protests only bore fruit more than ten years after the work was completed, and when Michelangelo had already died. In December 1563, just two months before the artist's death, the XXV session of the Council of Trent was held, where the decorum to capture religious characters and, in general, the bases are established for what artistic representation should be like.

Consequently, Paul IV, Peter's successor to the throne, commissioned Daniele da Volterra (1509-1566), to true, a disciple of Michelangelo, who covered the genitals of the figures with cloths, to adapt to the decorum determined by Trent. And there you can still see those “virtuous” pieces of fabric, which earned Volterra the nickname Il Braghettone.

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2. The Virgin “drowned” in the Tiber

In 1601 Caravaggio was commissioned to show the Dormition of the Virgin, destined for the church of Santa María della Scala in Rome. The date is clear: we are in a time where the precepts of Trent discussed above are already being reflected in works of art.. This means that Caravaggio's composition must follow a series of guidelines and cannot, under any circumstances, go beyond what is established by the Church.

At first glance, there is nothing in the painting that seems to go outside the box. decorum ecclesiastical. We see the Virgin lying in the center of the image, with the apostles and Mary Magdalene around her. Magdalena covers her face, in a gesture of deep pain. The scene therefore gives off a sad, somewhat gloomy atmosphere, which harmonizes with the theme represented. However, the client did not accept the work, considering it excessive in “lewdness.” What most scandalized the Carmelites was that the Virgin appeared “abandoned” on a table, looking like a corpse and all swollen.. And, apparently, Caravaggio had used a prostitute drowned in the Tiber as a “model”…

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3. The Inquisition investigates Don Francisco de Goya

In 1799 it appears in the Madrid Gazette an announcement informing the people of Madrid that it is now possible to purchase the series of Whims of Goya in an establishment located precisely below his home. The eighty engravings, specifically titled Collection of prints of capricious matters, invented and etched by D. Francisco de Goya, are about “human vices,” as stated in the introduction.

It is important to stop at the word “invented” that Goya included in the title of his work. Because with this, the artist intended to make it clear that he was in no way referring to concrete and particular cases. Despite this, it seems that He was overcome by fear of possible reprisals, since, a few days after arranging his Caprichos for sale, he withdrew them from the market..

And the fact is that among the targets of Goya's criticism was the Inquisition itself. Veiled criticism, but quite obvious. In 1804, five years after the execution of the engravings, someone denounced the artist, who was investigated by the Holy Office of Toledo. Luckily, the case did not go any further, apparently through the intermediation of King Carlos IV himself or his minister, Manuel Godoy.

4. The scandal of the naked nymphs

Lola Mora (1866-1936) is one of the best-known sculptors in Argentina. In 1900, the artist was in Rome, on a study trip that allowed her to get up close and personal with the great Italian masters. It was then that she was commissioned to create a colossal monument, intended for the Plaza de Mayo, for which Mora executed the sketches in Italy itself. The sculptor's idea was a huge fountain, where the protagonists were beautiful naked nymphs emerging from the water..

Mora herself directed the assembly works. This was the first step of the controversy, since the artist dressed in pants to be able to do her work more comfortably (to the scandal of passers-by). But the problem was not going to end here. The most reactionary sectors of the city protested the “immorality” of the nudes, so it was decided that the location of the fountain was going to be another, much more “discreet.”

First, the Mataderos neighborhood was thought of, very depopulated in those years, but finally the work was installed in Parque Colón, where it was inaugurated in May 1903. By the way, of all those attending the inauguration, Lola Mora was the only woman.

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5. A very “offensive” William Tell

At the beginning of the 1930s, the relationship between Dalí and the group of surrealists was going through (very) low hours. At that time, the group's leader, André Breton, had radically politicized the movement and linked it to communism, a fact with which Dalí did not feel comfortable. The result was the definitive split between the genius of Figueres and the French surrealists.

Perhaps out of revenge, perhaps out of mockery (taking into account Dalí's character, the latter seems more plausible), in 1933 the Catalan artist painted The Enigme of Guillaume Tell (The Enigma of William Tell), a character that greatly interested Dalí due to his supposed psychoanalytic connotations. Surprisingly, the person who appears on the canvas is Lenin himself, who also shows his surreally elongated buttocks to the viewer.

The painting was a real offense to Breton and company, because, remember, they were staunch followers of communism. When the canvas was exhibited at the Grand Palais in Paris, the surrealist leader came to destroy the work. Miraculously (or perhaps it was an express act by Dalí, to avoid precisely that), The enigma of William Tell It was too high and Breton could not reach it with his cane.

But Dalí's fate in the surrealist group was already cast. Breton formed a kind of “revolutionary tribunal” with his colleagues and expelled the painter from the group for “counter-revolutionary activities.”

6. Censorship… one hundred years later

The work of Egon Schiele (1890-1918) already aroused controversy at the time (he was imprisoned for three weeks), due to its crude exposure of the naked body and its highly erotic charge. The most surprising thing is that, one hundred years later, the Austrian artist continues to cause scandal.

In 2018, the Vienna City Council was preparing an exhibition of Schiele's work and, to this end, did not hesitate to publicize it through posters. These posters reproduced works by the artist and were spread on billboards and on public transportation.

The idea was for the exhibition to reach various European cities. The surprise was huge when the United Kingdom and Germany refused to join the advertising campaign because they considered Schiele's work “pornographic.” and highly inappropriate to be placed in public places. The Vienna City Council's response was an ingenious twist to the campaign: they placed white bands right where the genitals of the figures and wrote on them “Sorry, 100 years old but still too daring today.” today). The most curious thing about the case is that both the United Kingdom and Germany accepted the posters with the “explanatory” band.