The top 10 romantic artworks
From the filthy to the romantic, art celebrating erotic pleasure has thrilled artists and collectors for centuries.
As Sotheby's plays host to the much-anticipated Erotic: Passion & Desire sale next week, we round up 10 of the best romantic artworks celebrating pleasure in the most sensual and provocative ways (leaving pornography aside, of course).
Just in time for Valentine's Day, this selection will make even the most liberal among you hot under the collar. Enjoy.
Leda and the Swan is one of the most erotically charged mythological subject matters in the canon of art history. Artists over the centuries, from François Lemoynes to François Boucher, have depicted Jupiter's seduction of Leda, wife of King Tydnareus of Sparta.
This sumptuous Boucher portrait is delicate in its execution, daringly explicit yet more sensual than many other rococo portraits of Leda and the Swan. For that reason alone, it makes it onto our list.
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