Do you think the stars count the people?
(Islas De Gigantes, Carles, Iloilo, PH)
The Birth of Venus by Henry Courtney Selous
Sketches, 1622, Peter Paul Rubens
Size: 64x50 cm
Medium: oil, wood
The Descent into Hell via Tintoretto
Size: 373x342 cm
Medium: oil, canvas
Gustave Courbet, Le Sommeil,1866.
Le Sommeil [The Sleepers], which depicts two women entwined in a post-coital embrace, caused a stir when it was first shown in the 1870s. The police were called in, and the painting was not shown again until the 1980s. But its brief showing had an influence on a number of contemporary artists, and helped challenge the taboos associated with lesbian relationships. For modern audiences it’s a good reminder that people in the 19th century were not ignorant of lesbian relationships, as we tend to believe.




![fuckyeahrenaissanceart:
“ Ely Cathedral Choir West View, Ely, Cambridgeshire, England [OC][8686x5790]
”](https://66.media.tumblr.com/d3a746013ab17e016b6a560db97bfd1e/tumblr_ophgq5d1ck1s4qflio1_400.jpg)
![secretlesbians:
“ Gustave Courbet, Le Sommeil,1866.
Le Sommeil [The Sleepers], which depicts two women entwined in a post-coital embrace, caused a stir when it was first shown in the 1870s. The police were called in, and the painting was not shown...](https://66.media.tumblr.com/83fe7e5c6d3282267210c04c82417c0b/tumblr_n3p8unCWTg1s5r0ogo1_400.jpg)