Photograph
ca.1890 (photographed)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Photograph of 'Illustration for the Book of Ruth' by Simeon Solomon
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Platinum print |
| Brief description | Photograph of 'Illustration for the Book of Ruth' by Simeon Solomon, late 19th century. |
| Physical description | Photograph of 'Illustration for the Book of Ruth' by Simeon Solomon |
| Bibliographic reference | The following excerpts are taken from the GLBTQ Archive Encyclopedia, © 2015, glbtq, Inc.:
"Associated with the Pre-Raphaelites and the Aesthetic Movement of the late 19th century, Simeon Solomon lived a life marked by both stunning success and unfortunate tragedy. Significant in LGBTQ culture for living openly as a gay man in the Victorian period, at a time when it was not at all socially acceptable to do so, he wrote an important prose poem in 1870 that may be read as a defense of male-male desire. Privately published, it was entitled A Vision of Love Revealed in Sleep.
Around this time, he was also creating works depicting androgynous male figures who are representative of homoerotic love. The opening of the Dudley Gallery in London in 1865 allowed Solomon and other artists to exhibit works with more daring subjects than those accepted at the Royal Academy.
During these years Solomon created such works of homoerotic content as 'Sappho and Erinna in a Garden at Mytelene' (1864), 'Love among the School Boys' (1866), 'The Bride and Bridegroom' (1866), 'Sad Love' (1866), 'Love in Autumn' (1866), and two versions of 'Bacchus' (1866 and 1867).
Although he had earned recognition as an artist in his lifetime, Solomon's life and career deteriorated after his arrest for "buggery" in 1873. He may be seen as a victim of late 19th century English homophobia as he lived most of the remaining 32 years of his life as a social outcast and his work faded into oblivion after his death in 1905. It has only recently been re-examined". |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | PH.2815-1905 |
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| Record created | February 26, 2003 |
| Record URL |
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