The Many Sides of the Beloved: Symbolism and Significance of David and Ganymede in Italian Renaissance Art

Author/Creator ORCID

Date

2005

Department

Art and Art History

Program

Bachelor's Degree

Citation of Original Publication

Rights

Collection may be protected under Title 17 of the U.S. Copyright Law. To obtain information or permission to publish or reproduce, please contact the Goucher Special Collections & Archives at 410-337-6347 or email archives@goucher.edu.

Abstract

I began this paper as a look at homoeroticism in depictions of David and Ganymede in Renaissance Florence. It seemed like mostly an aesthetic question: how do these works establish their subjects as sensual and sexual creatures, and how does that reflect on their artists? As I began my research however, I was intrigued by social aspects of homosexuality in Renaissance Florence, particularly the adoption of Greek paederastia (the love of an older man for a youth). I began to see David and Ganymede as representing two sides of the beloved youth, as my title states, the youth who overcomes his lover with his beauty and the youth who is overcome by the power of an older man. Someday I hope to return to this subject and delve more deeply into the social issues involved.