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Art Criticisms of Taner Ceylans Homoerotic Painting By: Sylvia Villalobos

Alexander they called him Great, loved a beautiful soldier and a beautiful horse, kissed one and the riddle is: Did he kiss both? Which one first and with the most ardour? (From the Poem Mavi by Ashk Ruhani) Artistic Handling The breadth of handling richness, luminosity of colours and intricate range of brushstrokes, intimacy are the hallmarks of this painting. The breathtaking variety of technique shows his entire mastery of the suggestive brushstrokes. The delicate fleshy strokes of the skin, the rounded muscular and directional rendering of the physique, the flat translucent glazes of the shadows, the astoundingly sensual and yet subtle depiction of mans phallus lies in the unconscious way in which unwittingly reveals a potential erotic gesture which Ceylan alienated from any content of lasciviousness by its very naturalness, the abstract hatching of the left legs all precisely denote the quality of the elements they describe. Ceylans conception of intimacy lies not in the idea of form but in revelation, that often in a private moment, of unstudied attitude, and complete submission he captured the moment with grace thereby showing his subjects inner and private character. The variety of brushstrokes is dazzling .The outline figure has been delicately painted which convey a marvellous sense of volume and of underlying bone structure, as for the definition of the right arm hand. The flesh tones of the face and legs have been strongly painted with fluidly applied directional brushstrokes of varying tinges of flesh colour.

The bending man is articulated in such manner that a precise brushstrokes extending from elbow to his legs which succeeds in showing volume when viewed from a distance. The backgrounds of the painting have been thrown into flat shadows that established the mood of his works and deepened the sense of the two men rapt self-absorption. Ceylan so masterfully interweave lights and contrasts with so suggestive and allusive a touch. Ceylan evoked the suggestiveness of mood by concealing the exact expression of the eyes, gazing downwards as if in deep shadows, so that the viewers is compelled to use their own imagination to complete the expression. Taner Ceylan has rendered a realist approach, an intellectual integrity and a depth of socio-political and historical insight to bear his own style that makes this masterpiece one of his greatest works of confessional relevance of any given era. Historical Relevance, Social sensibilities and Taboos (1) The most civilized culture in antiquity also developed a highly evolved form of homosexual love. In ancient Greece love between males, or more precisely, love between young men and adolescent boys, was harnessed for the good of the state and of the lovers. Though not strictly gay love as we know it today, it was founded on the erotic passion between two males. It was held that the youth was enriched by the friendship of his lover and that the man strove to attain heights of achievement, in battle, sports or his profession, to be worthy of his beloved. These partnerships of lovers were said to make men undefeatable in battle (2)Famous Men whose pederasty exploits become a catastrophe Among them is the Great Russian composer Tchaikovsky, who had a fiery gay love affair with his teenage nephew and then was forced to commit suicide when he tried to seduce a nobleman's son. Another composer, Beethoven, was also deeply in love with his nephew, who finally tried to shoot himself in the head to escape his uncle's obsessive love. The loss of the boy plunged Beethoven into a deep depression which he did not survive. Their conversation books were destroyed by Beethoven's biographer as they were too incriminating. Jules Verne also had a misadventure with a nephew and a gun, only this time he was the target of the distraught boy. The nature of their relationship is not clear, but his love for the school boy Aristide Briand, later prime-minister of France, is well known. And let's not forget the paramount playwright of all time, William Shakespeare, who had the nerve and the genius to write one hundred and twenty six sonnets to his beloved youth, and only twenty five to his beloved lady. (3)Gay Love in the 20th Century Some humans who have bad natures take pleasure in unnatural acts. Bad human nature can result from disease or habituation, both prosecuting and defense, and psychologists and social workers do the harm. If a pubescent "victim" received honour, prestige and encomia instead of shame, embarrassment and guilt for what his culture forbids.

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