Scandalous Seductions at the Metropolitan
Led by our favorite queer guide, Professor Andrew Lear
Meet and depart at 1 pm, from inside the main entrance (to the right, next to the statue of the Pharaoh)
Cost: $45 full price*; $39 seniors*; $25 Met members and students
Early Bird Sale: Use code “early” and save $5**
Tix: www.scandalatthemet.eventbrite.com
Great art is full of hidden meanings—and more often than not, they’re all sex, straight, gay, and in between. A lute standing in for a man's erection … a lady’s slack shoulder strap suggesting adultery… Of course, polite society rarely allowed sex to be presented explicitly. But throughout the centuries, artists have used sly suggestions and concealed codes to sneak around society’s rules, leaving future generations’ magnificent works whose double meanings are waiting to be discovered. Join us on this tour of the Metropolitan Museum that shows how artists fought the censors—and generally won. You’ll learn about:
• The sex taboos of ancient Greece (so different from our own!)
• How the Renaissance brought desire back into plain sight
• The Bible as a source for moral instruction…and erotic imagery
• Paintings that warned against vice—by depicting vice!
• And artists who risked their careers by depicting scandalous themes
And you’ll see things that you never imagined existed in art. From masturbating monkeys on a Greek perfume jar to Parisian prostitutes on their work break, the Metropolitan is a treasure house of art works that tell us so much about desire, sex, and the range of sexualities.
**Expires 1/28/17. Not valid on prior sale or in combination with other offers.
*NOTE: "Full Price" and "Senior" price include cost of admission to the museum as well as the tour. The $25 cost for Met members and students is for the tour only (please bring your member ID or student ID to gain entry to the museum). The tour is operated by Oscar Wilde Tours and is not officially an offering of the Met Musem. Price of admission does not include beverages. No refunds or exchanges.