Sex and religion in allegory

[mattbell]

This painting (from the main art museum in Warsaw) more or less sums up how I feel about religions that attempt to control human sexuality.



Facial expressions are a lot clearer and more seductive in the full size version.

Here we have an old sinner about to die, and Death brings with an allegorical personified vision of each of the Seven Deadly Sins he committed. (Quick, match them up!) Presumably this was commissioned by the church to scare sinners into repentance or confession. In reality it inspires all kinds of sinful thoughts in at least half its viewers. The artist probably was a patron of certain sins; usually these sorts of artists are the ones with the vivacity and passion to paint that sort of subject well. So we have an institution that wants to control natural human impulses commissioning a passionate indulger of natural human impulses to paint an image of the evils of these natural human impulses. The result is pure Reefer Madness, a work that espouses the virtues of what it's supposed to condemn.

Comments

[maradydd.livejournal.com]

I think I can pick out Gluttony, Sloth and Lust, but I'm at a loss as to who represents Wrath, Avarice, Envy or Pride. Also, is Gluttony holding a cat?

[peristaltor.livejournal.com]

Well timed. The Wife just shared a commentary on a Tao passage: "It is not acceptable to have a religion where the alternative to faith is punishment -- that's how you train dogs, not develop people."

[nasu-dengaku.livejournal.com]

I figured the green shawl was a symbol for envy, and the face confirmed it. Gluttony is holding a cauldron of food cooking over a fire, but in the low-res image, it totally looks like a cat.