One of the most visited pornographic websites, PornHub, is facing charges from the Louvre in France and the Uffizi in Italy. Reason being that they recreated scenes from masterpieces using porn stars, on their site without permission.
Some of the paintings that inspired their suggestive scenes, were Spring (also known as Primavera) by Botticelli and Bacchus by Caravaggio. To top it, PornHub also wrote explicit descriptions of the recreations.
This is all quite scandalous… or is it? Is it offensive or comical? It depends on who you ask. Nudity in art has been around for years and it is always described as a form of beauty in an art setting. Yet, there would be people who would say otherwise. Not to say that it’s all pornographic, that’s on a different level.
Is PornHub being disrespectful by tainting these works of art? Perhaps they were bringing attention the classical arts or trying to bring forward these artworks into the present? Like I had mentioned before, this site is visited often.
Either way, it makes one think about the ideas and issues over nudity and art and what is acceptable and what is not. It’s a thin line that artists tight-rope on a lot of times.
Ultimately, it’s part of a form of expression and that’s what art is all about. Whether PornHub was doing it for art sakes (which I would be surprised if it was) or not; who knows.
I found it funny, that the representative of the Uffizi was stating that PornHub needed to have asked for permission and even if they did they would have declined.
What the Art?! Art History Simplified 