The Art of Lovemaking: An Illustrated Tribute (Hardcover)

by James A. Haught (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Through the centuries, artists have portrayed the fascinating beauty of the union of a man and woman. From sixth-century B.C. Greek vases, to eleventh-century Indian temple carvings, to Oriental "pillow books," to Fragonard, Rodin, Picasso, and the avant-garde of the 1990's, artists of many sorts have expressed the rapture of lovers as a fundamental human experience.

Today, despite extremists' calls for renewed censorship, people may view artworks they were once forbidden to see, and artists may express themselves in ways that would once have resulted in their imprisonment.

From the Inside Flap
According to a 1992 World Health Organization report, more than 100 million couples throughout the world make love on any given day. Every moment, lovers are locked in passion, compelled by a natural urge driving all peoples in all centuries.

And yet this same natural desire has all too often been regarded as a dangerous force and even branded as obscene. Religious taboos have tainted sex with guilt and punishment. Earlier in this century, artists could be imprisoned for portraying sex. Today, despite two decades of easing restrictions on sexual expression and greater freedom for the practice of non-traditional lifestyles, religious fundamentalists and other extremists seek to turn back the clock, advocating prosecution of any whom they regard as sexually subversive or exploitative, and recommending strict censorship of artistic or literary expressions of erotic emotion.

THE ART OF LOVEMAKING: AN ILLUSTRATED TRIBUTE is a spirited rebuttal to those crying for renewed censorship. In this sumptuous volume, James Haught brings together the works of many modern and classic artists to show that the depiction of love and desire is not only alive and well but an important theme in art, both in the East and West, throughout the ages. While styles differ and artistic conventions vary, the same message shines through: that love is beautiful and therefore ought to be looked at and enjoyed, not regarded as shameful.

THE ART OF LOVEMAKING, intended for the private pleasure of adult couples, may be perused solely for its sensual loveliness. But its purpose is also to refute three unhealthy calumnies: the puritanical axiom that sex itself is dirty, the ultrafeminist contention that any portrayal of sex degrades women, and the vulgar notion that reduces all erotic art to the level of pornography. These fallacious views must retreat before the simple honesty of major artists depicting lovers as affectionate equals.

In his superb introduction, Russell Vannoy discusses various philosophical and cultural approaches to sexuality and the problems of trying to formulate a single, hence exclusive, definition of sexual love.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 146 pages
• Publisher: Prometheus Books (October 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 087975740X
• ISBN-13: 978-0879757403
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,992,352 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Attractive, but could have been more, March 15, 2008

By	wiredweird "wiredweird" (Earth, or somewhere nearby) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)

There's a lot to like in this little volume. A half dozen brief essays comment on the natural and social history of sex. They assert that the human animal is built for physical pleasure like no other creature on earth, and that social and legal acceptance are gradually turning Western society into a culture that better supports our loving nature.

Those essays constitute only a small portion of this book, however. The larger part alternates samples of visual and literary art that celebrate the beauty of sexuality. These works cover every era from classical Greece to the current era. Occasional examples of unfamiliar works by familiar artists (including Picasso, Munch, and Matisse) might surprise some viewers - these works come from parts of the artists' ouvres that Mrs. Grundy would prefer to keep hidden.

All of the artworks appear in black and white. This works well for line drawings and woodcuts originally meant for that kind of display. Paintings originally in color lose a lot, though, and some reproductions aren't the sharpest. And, of course, there's always reason to want more of everything. On the whole, it's not a must-have for any collection, but still easy to enjoy.

-- wiredweird

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars VERY INFORMATIVE, March 20, 2001

By A Customer

Great book- This book was given to me by my pastors wife. It's very informative and contains lots of useful information about sex, lovemaking, health, relationships and pornography. The book is well illustrated and I found it very pleasurable to read. The book stays away from using graphic terms or blunt words, yet the author gets her message across. This is the type of book, you can easily hand down to a daughter or loved one who just turned 18.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book, January 4, 2001

By	Serena Lancaster (Arizona) - See all my reviews

This book is well written and makes for good reading material. Alot of the sexual books written today are crude and in bad taste. This book is written in a tactful manner. It's well illustrated and gives good informative tips.