The KMSKA collection through pink glasses

Saint Sebastian by Artus Quellinus II (1625 - 1700) is traditionally depicted as a young man bound to a tree, pierced by arrows. This early Christian Roman martyr is shown here almost naked, with an idealised, muscular body. His tormented gaze is directed towards heaven. Sebastian has long been the patron saint of the marksmen’s guild, but over the centuries he has also become significant within the gay community. Because of the sensual way in which he is often portrayed, he was at times regarded in the past as a symbol of same sex love. There are even known examples in which an image of Saint Sebastian was removed from a church, as worshippers confessed to having sinful thoughts because of it. His meaning within the queer community has endured and evolved over time. During the 1980s, he was invoked as a patron saint by gay men during the HIV epidemic.

This work is a good example of how gender expression has been interpreted over time and how it is subject to change and trends. The modern visitor will likely frown when reading the label Portrait of a Boy. Isn’t that a girl, in a dress? For a seventeenth-century viewer, there is nothing unusual about it: at the time it was completely normal to dress young children, both boys and girls, in dresses. This made them easy to care for. The other attributes that painter Erasmus Quellinus II (1607 - 1678) added, such as the flat white collar, the ribbons around his waist, and the hat with an ostrich feather, would also have clearly indicated to contemporary viewers that this is a boy. These features were decisive in identifying the child as male, whereas the work had previously been known for a time as Portrait of a Girl. This confusion can prompt reflection on one’s own cultural norms around gender expression. Trends such as gender reveal parties, in which it is announced with great drama whether the expectant mother is having a boy or a girl, may also be perceived as strange or unnecessary in the future.

An intense battle scene unfolds in this dynamic sculpture by August Kiss (1802 - 1865). A panther sinks its claws and teeth into the neck of a terrified horse, which braces itself against the attack with wide eyes. The brave rider – a woman! – is ready to pierce the animal with her spear. She is an Amazon, a people of exclusively female warriors, known from Greek myths. They were renowned for their skilled horsemanship and archery. According to legend, they even removed their right breast to draw the bow more easily. Their fearless nature and independence from men did not fit within the conventions of women as passive and submissive. The idea of a woman as a warrior was far from common. Yet this Amazon radiates strength and courage – with a furious, fearless gaze, she takes aim at her target.

This densely populated, mythological feast of the gods by Frans Floris I (1515 – 1570) is full of erotic motifs, couples, and interpersonal tensions. We see a banquet of the gods from antiquity on Mount Olympus. They are served aphrodisiacs such as oysters and artichokes, while the cherubs in the background remove their weapons, like a club and a trident. The gods can be identified by their attributes, such as Zeus, shown on the left with an eagle. The bearded elder exchanges a glance with the handsome young man beside him, who offers him a cup. This is Ganymede, a shepherd whose beauty made Zeus so enamored that he transformed into an eagle to abduct the boy. He brought his beloved Ganymede to Olympus under the pretense of serving wine. In the work, Zeus points to his wife Hera (recognizable by the peacock), highlighting the tension between the couple. The many extramarital affairs of the chief god – with both women and men – are legendary. In the past, ‘Ganymede’ was even used as a code word to refer to a homosexual relationship. For example, Michelangelo made drawings of Ganymede’s abduction for his beloved, Tommaso dei Cavalieri.

In Kings of Egypt (image at the top of this webpage) by American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960 – 1988), multiple layers of text, color, and line drawings overlap to create an expressive whole. Many recurring elements of his style are recognizable: skulls, crowns, fragmented phrases, and words that are crossed out or circled. At the very top, we read RAMESES 2, an Egyptian pharaoh, as indicated by the title. Basquiat devoted a series of three paintings to the Kings of Egypt. The concept of ‘king’ frequently appears in Basquiat’s work, either as a word or in his iconic tag, the crown. He is the only artist in the museum whose membership in the LGBTQ+ community is known for certain, as he identified as bisexual. Does this mean that his work should also be considered queer? Basquiat did not explicitly engage with this subject in his art, focusing instead on other societal themes. The stark contrasts between rich and poor, power and powerlessness, always take center stage. As a Black artist, he called out racism and injustice within existing power structures.