Sistine Chapel homoerotic?

[Steven1]

One of my teachers stated that Michaelangelo and Da vinci were gay as if it were fact, which is one thing, but then he went on to state that the Sistine Chapel artwork was homoerotica. How do I respond to this? (I’m new here so sorry if this thread is in the wrong spot.)

 

[neophyte]

How do I respond to this?

I don’t suppose “You ignorant TWIT” would do your grade much good.

 

[aroosi]

GIVE.ME.A.BREAK

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[sealabeag]

I remember being told this same unsubstantiated tidbit when I was at school. Renaissance art was just very free and un-prudish with the human form.

 

[stpurl]

And I suppose eye rolling and a small shake of the head might be problematic too.

Unfortunately we are going to meet a lot of people in life who hold really ridiculous views (I just was on another thread where a poster was stating that abortion in the case of rape was justified because the child was ‘the rapist’s heir’ and ‘God punishes for the sins of the father’ etc among other ‘strange views’. You can give the Catholic teaching but if people are determined to go around and believe their own ‘made up’ interpretations there isn’t much you can do. At least in forums you can ‘have a voice’; when it comes to your professor who definitely has more ‘power’ over a student, one needs to be prudent. “Letting the comment go’ for now, getting through the course and hopefully getting the grade you deserve, and THEN if you find out that he constantly says this with every class AND otherwise belittles Christianity (and who knows, with the state of the world today, he might actually be all FOR ‘homoerotica’ and think that he’s COMPLIMENTING Christians), then you might address it with somebody at the institution at some point. For now, accept it as “Wow, some of my professors think the craziest things” for your file of “weird things people believe’.

 

[HomeschoolDad]

I just was on another thread where a poster was stating that abortion in the case of rape was justified because the child was ‘the rapist’s heir’ and ‘God punishes for the sins of the father’ etc among other ‘strange views’.

SMH ruefully…

This, friends, is why we have a teaching magisterium.

 

[Salli05]

By these standards, drinking coffee with my female friend at a cafe counts as lesbian foreplay… there is a certain statue of St Teresa of Avila i would like to know their opinion on
Frankly, it’s hard to not get the LGBTQ agenda shoved down my throat, especially in my country Denmark. And absolutely everything must be sexualised. Such an inclusive country, unless you’re a conservative catholic with a different view on sex…

 

[Steven1]

This is off topic, but what’s it like being Catholic in a Nordic country? Do people treat you much different because they’re protestant/secular?

 

[Salli05]

It’s fine… compared to china or places like that. I think people are very anti-catholic, and i’m ashamed to say i keep it a secret most of the time, except for when i’m around people i know would never insult me in any way. I have strange escapist fantasies about croatia, a very religious country, and that says something about how i feel about secularism. I’m very bad at taking up my cross…

 

[CoffeeFanatic]

Croatia is a very lovely place to visit. Once COVID is over, I intend to go back there at some point.

 

[Pitcairn17]

One of my teachers stated that Michaelangelo and Da vinci were gay as if it were fact, which is one thing, but then he went on to state that the Sistine Chapel artwork was homoerotica. How do I respond to this? (I’m new here so sorry if this thread is in the wrong spot.)

I wonder how they’d react to Michelangelo’s “David” in Florence!

 

[0Scarlett_nidiyilii]

Everything homoerotic if you squint and tilt you head just so…

 

[Fauken]

• “The Catholic Church hates gays with a burning and irrational passion.”
• “The Catholic Church allowed homoerotic art to be painted on one of its most beautiful and famous chapels at its heart in Rome.”

 

[superhancpetram]

One of my teachers stated that Michaelangelo and Da vinci were gay as if it were fact

Who knows? It’s possible. I would correct your teacher on two points:

1. The name is “Leonardo” or “Leonardo da Vinci”, not “Da Vinci”. The notion that “Da Vinci” was Leonardo’s surname (and hence can be used as his name like, say, Pollock) is an invention of the early 21st century. Your teacher presumably does not know a lot about art history if he is going around saying “Da Vinci”, a name that will not be found in any reliable works on art history.
2. It is anachronistic to talk about somebody being “gay” back in the 15th/16th century. “Gay” is more of a cultural identity. You can probably just about begin talking about people as “gay” beginning with Berlin during the Weimar Republic, but even that is a stretch, as the term itself was not in use. For the early 20th century, you are safer with terms such as “queer”, which is what people would have called themselves. Once you are going back to pre-First World War, and especially the more distant past, it makes no sense to identify people as “gay”. It’s like using the term “enslaved person” (rather than “slave”) to talk about slavery in classical antiquity or accusing Herod of committing “human rights abuses”.

he went on to state that the Sistine Chapel artwork was homoerotica

We don’t know what was in the minds of those who painted it and we don’t know what is in the minds of those who look at it. People say the same about depictions of St. Sebastian. Heck, they say that images of Our Lady are pornographic. All we can say is that that is not how the Church intends it to be seen and it is not how Catholics should view it.

 

[superhancpetram]

No offense, but I cannot, as a Catholic, imagine what it would be like to live in one of the Nordic countries, Benelux, the UK, France, the Czech Republic, or the northern/eastern parts of Germany. I think I would love Poland or Malta. I believe that even Spain and Italy are now very liberal. I don’t know about Portugal, but it sounds better, and I always admired Salazar. I know that many of the Eastern Orthodox countries are quite conservative, but I don’t know how good it is being a Catholic in such a country. I don’t really know a lot about contemporary Croatia, although I know that Catholic identity was at least historically very important there.

 

[CoffeeFanatic]

Let me put it to you this way about Croatia- you’ll randomly pass Divine Mercy billboards. There are more Catholic churches than Orthodox churches- but all seem active. I still think the majority of their population likely doesn’t attend church- but they all openly identify as Christian and more likely go to church than in other parts of Europe.

 

[Inbonum]

I have strange escapist fantasies about croatia, a very religious country, and that says something about how i feel about secularism

I am Croat and Catholic and I have to disappoint you because Croatia isn’t that much ‘Catholic’. It is pretty secularised country but religion is still important part of our culture (as @CoffeeFanatic noticed). Lately our country fell under influence of liberalism and genderism. Many want to remove Church from our society (mostly neocommunists and liberals) but it’s not scary case like in other parts of Europe.
Poland and Hungary are much more Catholic than we are now.

On fact that “many go to church” - even atheists here marry in churches and let their children receive sacraments - “just in case they would need it someday” or to please grandma. Going to Mass is something like cultural habit for many.

86% of population said they are Catholics but number of those who truly live their faith is maybe 30%.

I’m very bad at taking up my cross…

Don’t worry about that, it’s hard to be Catholic even here. Half of my life I spent outside of Church.

 

[Salli05]

There are still “former” communists in politics, i’ve heard. At the event “rijeka2020” they openly celebrated communism with a big red star on top of a building. Nothing was said about the thousands of victims of Tito’s crimes. I wished that communist crimes would get the same kind of attention as fascist crimes.

 

[TheLittleLady]

The artwork in a building is not a matter of faith or morals.

I’d simply not respond and go about my studies.

 

[Inbonum]

I will say just couple things (and won’t interrupt thread anymore)

There are still “former” communists in politics, i’ve heard.

I wished that communist crimes would get the same kind of attention as fascist crimes.

It is true. We have many people in politics nowadays who were members of communistic party and State Security Service (UDBA), which is kind of sister of KGB from Soviet Union.
I used to see on street one of the leaders of Security Service (who is btw 100 years old now and still very alive). He isn’t active politician anymore but still has big impact and knowledge about many things from past.
He is very well known and sued by some persons but nothing happened.
Not to mention that he is connected to death of blessed Cardinal Aloysius Stepinac (you can ask his intercession for courage to be and stay Catholic in anti-Catholic society, he was persecuted and abused by communists).

Our courts are slow but also very corrupt. Trials are deliberately postponed, politicians and public persons are often acquitted or never convicted.

Unfortunately, we have never done political lustration as Poland did. When that happens we can say that we made step forward.

Communistic crimes aren’t punished till today.
Some persons from my family were victims of those crimes too and they never got justice. Not even after decades.

Even though a lot is known there is no strong will to punish crimes and remove communism as much as possible. It should be crime to support any totalitarian regimes. Nazis are punished here but communists not.
There is evidence, mass graves, testimonies, as well as many people who are still alive but are being ignored.
I think that whole generations of communists from past must die out so we can be free from it, at least in politics and public life. It’s like a plague.

There is milion things that happen, some of them you mentioned.
E.g. Every year we have rallies honoring Tito, celebrating his greatness… Those same politicians ‘week later’ also come to Mass for the victims of totalitarian regimes. I would say it’s one deeply disordered and sick thing.

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