International Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences Review (IJHSSR);

Vol. 1, Issue 1; January 2021

Understanding Eroticism in Art Forms: A Critical Analysis of Octave Tassaert’s

Vaidehi Rajagopalan,
Post Graduate Scholar,
Department of English, Central University of Punjab
e-mail id: [email protected]

Abstract
Erotic capital is a value that one acquires as a result of sexual attractiveness which is as
important as social and cultural capital. It is a combination of many attributes. It was first used
by Catherine Hakim who defined it as a separate form, independent of class origin and which
therefore enables social mobility. The erotic theory states that every individual has complete
freedom upon their sexual life. This paper attempts to question the title of one of Octave
Tassaert’s famous paintings, ‘The Cursed Woman’. It brings the picture of a woman receiving
sex from three partners. The title translates into ‘The Damned Woman’, but it looks more like
heaven than damnation. Sexual intercourse with more than one partner cannot make a woman
cursed. Above all, the features of the painting prove the woman’s state of happiness and
satisfaction. She seems comfortable with what she does. It is commonly believed that women
are those supposed to beautify themselves but not allowed to show their interests in sexual acts.
Another fact is that the painter who considered, the woman having sex with multiple partners
as cursed, was himself considered as the worst painter by the people because of the
representation of sex and nudity. He had to face opposition for most of his paintings. According
to the theory, the woman has a complete right over her body and thus it opposes the title of the
painting.

Keywords: Eroticism, erotic capital, sexology, cursed, painting, woman, multiple partners

Introduction
Eroticism is an expression of an individual’s freedom or sovereignty in his or her sexual
life. It is an important social value that gives the right for a person to use his or her body
according to their wish. Octave Tassaert was a famous painter who represented eroticism in his
works. The paper tries to question the title of one of his paintings. It consists of a woman having
sex with three partners and the title is ‘The Cursed Woman’. This article attempts to prove the
woman is not cursed using the principles of eroticism. It also discusses the representation of
nudity and sex in art.

Theoretical Overview
Erotic capital is a value that one acquires as a result of sexual attractiveness which is as
important as social and cultural capital. Erotic theory guarantees full freedom for an individual

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Vol. 1, Issue 1; January 2021

on his or her body. The term was coined to refer to a nebulous but crucial mixture of features
like charm, social and physical attractiveness etc. Eroticism is a collection of many attributes,
not simply the beauty and charm of the body but something that can be learned. The term was
introduced by Catherine Hakim. It is a major asset in politics, media, sports, etc.
Hakim (2012,p. 6) argues that women who openly dispose of their sex appeal and beauty
are considered as stupid and subjected to many meaningful social attributes. The most powerful
tool deployed by men to reduce women’s use of erotic capital is the stigmatization of women
who give sexual services. Once the patriarchal restrictions on women’s sexual activities and
lives are eliminated, the social imbalance will vanish. In the absence of social contrasts, there
appears no sex difference in sexual needs or interests among the people. There has been an
increase in recreational sex, in and out of marriage. Male control over women’s fertility and
sexuality divided women into ‘non-respectable’ and ‘respectable’, those attached to one man
and the others, ‘pure’ or ‘impure’. The subordination of women by men was sexual in its origin.
The language of the dress was one of the factors used to stigmatize women. Men should get
what they want from women for free, especially sex, which is the logic behind their dominance.
A lot of values, cultures, and social customs are concerned with ensuring men’s sexual access
to women on terms favorable to them. This is termed as ‘male sex right’. Men’s instrumental
attitude towards the world based on manipulation and domination is in contrast to women’s
nurturing outlook. An ideal woman is expected to be perpetually sensual and beautiful, but
should not be too conscious of her beauty and sex appeal. This is a cultural construct and thus
women’s sexuality has traditionally been restrained.
The male sex deficit is a factor that helps to explain men’s continuing need to retain
misogyny, power, male violence towards women, male antagonism towards women’s autonomy
and independence. Men financially benefit more than women from erotic capital. Women seem
to be less rewarded than men. Male desires and sexual needs color the debates on erotic capital
and its value. Women’s erotic capital thus becomes intertwined with the male sex deficit, male
ego, and the rhetoric adjoining power struggles between men and women. Modern sexual
politics constantly denies the value of women’s erotic capital and sexuality in private life. Social
scientists have sidestepped and have realized its impact on both private and public life.
Patriarchal norms have trivialized women’s erotic capital to discourage women from
capitalizing on it.
Radical feminists, unfortunately, have reinforced patriarchal moral objections to the
deployment of erotic capital. Even if there are daily reminders of its importance, erotic capital
is the fourth personal asset so far ignored. Erotic capital is the most complex personal asset with
several features like sex appeal, beauty, charm, and charisma, social skills, sexual performances,
and fertility as well. Unlike all others, it begins from an early period and thus avoids a visible
impact on all stages of life. One of the elements of erotic capital is definitely social. It is defined
that erotic capital is multifaceted. Particular features may be more or less salient in various
societies and at different points in time. Despite these variations, sex appeal is in short supply
and therefore universally valued. In some cultures, fertility is considered as one of the elements
of erotic capital and this is one reason for stigmatizing homosexuality as it cannot produce
offspring. In some cases, erotic and cultural capitals are closely interlinked. It is a combination
of visual, artistic, social, physical, and, sexual attractiveness to other members of society. The

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title of the work, ‘Psychopathia Sexualis’ by Kraft-Ebbing, makes it clear that this examination
of desire adopts a medical perspective on the psychological and pathological condition of erotic
life.
Sexology remains worryingly inconsiderate to the historical eventuality of the scientific
methods it employs to estimate sexual deviancy or normativity, adequacy or inadequacy. One
can find sexological writings seeking to produce some everlasting truth about the sexual
capacity of human beings. Sexological writings remain pensive with the quantification of data
based on sexual behaviors and functions that they rarely pause to consider why or how sexuality
might resist the structures or arrangements that sexual science proliferates at an exponential
rate.
Sexual love in married life is based on the fetishism enjoyed by men. This concludes
how men select their partners in a discriminating rather than lustful way. Strict social methods
of respectability, that considered sex as an unspeakable topic, militated against the circulation
of sexological writings. The ethnic practice of sheathing the genitals derives from multiple
sources: a biologically defined sense of modesty and an inbuilt erotic drive. Tattooing and body
adornment in so-called ancient cultures can be considered as having the same dual function.
Auto-eroticism to some extend is a physiological manifestation. It becomes morbid in certain
conditions such as in individuals who are previously morbid. Even among animals, auto-
eroticism is a largely diffused phenomenon. Auto-eroticism belongs to a pattern of psycho-
sexual development. It is always a precursor of fully developed sexuality and manifests itself a
long time before puberty.
By developing this view, Weininger(1903) expands in modern form the conviction that
masculinity and femininity are derived from one sex, not two. Sexual differentiation is never
complete. All human beings abide by a perpetual bisexual condition. Eroticism deals with both
social and physical attractiveness. These reinforce each other. Single women and lesbians were
at times considered inferior beings who had failed to preserve the fruits of womanhood. One of
the highly examined fields from the mid-century has been the relation between women’s sexual
rights and heterosexual desires. These discussions intensified with sexological research
enhanced the need to improve erotic potential.
Sexology has been far too analyzed on categorizing sexual types and measuring sexual
behaviors, setting norms and targets for each. If sexology has shifted from pathologizing certain
sexual aspirations by placing more focus on the choice of individual erotic contentment, it will
be difficult to understand how sexuality may defy and exceed bodily function. Eroticism
extends beyond the scope of the reproductive abilities of sexually matured people. First, there
is the existence of homosexuality. Second, those people who are grouped as perverts, who
behave like sexual ones but at the same time entirely disregard the sexual organs or their normal
use. Erotic capital thus explains the right and freedom of an individual on his or her body.

The Cursed Woman

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Vol. 1, Issue 1; January 2021

an engraver. His grandfather was a carver named Jean-Pierre-Antoine Tassaert. He won popular
but not an expository success and his works showing common lives were felt theatrical by
critics but approved by the public. He was a carver and painter of works that were highly
expensive, depicting the carnal act, inclination, seduction, and sexual pleasure. He was the
patron of lust in the world of art. His paintings represented the life of the poor, dysfunctional
families, sick people, or dying mothers and children. Its subject tends to be women far more
than men with clear inspiration from classical depictions of women’s figures and involves
inspiration from classical forms. The harmful addiction to alcohol and the unrelenting loss of
vision dragged the talented artist away from the arts and into a listless life where the only break
was literature. What truly led to his lack of recognition and society’s repudiation was the theme
of his works, eroticism. His paintings drove him further into obscurity in the art world. Since
the paintings represented nudity and sexual acts openly, people found it a little difficult to accept.
This lack of interest in discussing such topics grew into opposition against the painter. Some of
his other paintings involve ‘Flora’, ‘The Bedroom Mishap’, ‘The Jealous Cat’ etc.
Octave Tassaert in his paintings has tried to bring concepts to different areas. In his
painting ‘The Cursed Woman’, a woman having sex with three partners is portrayed. Sex is a
basic and usual need is represented in it. Usually, sex is something about which most people
show reluctance to speak about. Representation of sex in art makes people realize sex as
something that is as common as the basic processes like sleeping, eating, etc. Such paintings
provide a ground for people to discuss such matters openly. There has occurred much critical
opposition against this painting. Nudity, sex, relationship bonds are some of the common
themes of Octave Tassaert. The title of the painting says that the woman is cursed. There can
be several ideas behind this title for the painter. He may want to convey that a woman having
sex with more than one person is like being cursed. It can also show the inferiority of a woman
while having sex. Or else this title may be meant tongue in cheek by the artist, way back then.
The painting was made in 1859, a period when many injustices and problems prevailed in
society. According to Tassaert, eroticism was not the only area he explored in his paintings, but
also many works on social injustice.

Erotic Analysis
The title of the painting is questioned by the theory. The painting shows a woman having
sex with three partners. The painter considers the woman as cursed. But there is nothing that
makes the woman cursed in the painting. Sex, a universal and biological phenomenon among
all living beings, is practiced by the woman but with multiple partners. Having sex with more
than one partner cannot make a woman cursed. Above all, the features of the painting itself
prove that the woman is happy and satisfied with what she does.
The title translates into ‘The Damned Woman’ but this painting looks more like heaven
than damnation. The woman seems she is comfortable with what she is doing. Why does a lady
being worshipped by multiple partners called cursed? It looks like more of a blessing than a
curse and a pretty standard fantasy for most people. A keen observation of the physical features
of the painting shows that all the people involved here are happy and satisfied. To explain in
detail, the woman’s hands, her face, and all such physical characteristics make clear how happy
she is. The sexual intercourse might be under her consent. The painting also has some features

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of angles, showing that the sexual partners can be three angels. The painting was made in a
period that faced many social injustices. It might have made to show such social injustice. But
this particular act of having sex with multiple partners cannot be listed under social injustice. It
could have been away for artists in a time of censorship to paint exactly what they want, just
framing it in a negative way to escape said censorship.
From the point of eroticism, there are ‘normal sexual lives’ which lead to heterosexual
intercourse, that involve behaviors that do not have a direct function in the reproductive process.
There are many parts of the body that can become sites of great sexual valuation. All such
theoretical ideas are found to be difficult for people to accept. This might be the reason for
considering the woman as cursed. According to Freud (1905), ‘the sexual instinct has to fight
against certain kinds of mental forces which can act as resistances’, notable forces such as
shame and disgust. With this, he explains how sexual instinct itself combines varying and often
conflicting elements. The title of this Tassaert’s painting was accepted by a wide range of people.
This might be because of the belief in their minds that sexual intercourse, that too with multiple
people, was a sin, and thus the woman given the title of cursed is an apt one. Sexual practice is
not something that should be kept a secret in a conversation or public discussion. Freud (1905)
declares that sexual impulses are already present in the newborn child. To explain the child’s
incipient autoeroticism, he considers the infantile practice of thumb-sucking. In his writings,
Freud (1905) remarked, “I have been led to ascribe the quality of teratogenicity to all parts of
the body and to all the internal organs”.
A glance at the painting itself would have made the viewers accept the title of the
painting. People are not ready to accept sex as a common process. A keen observation of the
features of the people involved in the painting could have made the viewers understand that the
lady was comfortable and satisfied in her act. Another interesting fact is that the painter who
considered a woman having sex with multiple partners as a cursed act was himself considered
as the worst painter by the people because of the representation of sex and nudity. Most of his
paintings brought out the themes of nudity, sex, relationships, etc, and thus he had to face much
opposition from the people. People who consider sex as one’s personal choice and right may
not be able to find the reason for considering the woman in the painting as cursed.
There has happened much opposition from the people for the presentation of nudity in
such paintings. Nudity when shown in art is found to receive opposition, whereas nudity in
religious paintings is highly supported. Pictures of nude Gods and Goddesses are even
worshipped by the same people who oppose nudity when portrayed in art. Such religious
paintings are highly praised and often those painters are rewarded.
Another reason can be a woman having sex with multiple partners. If it was a man, there
might not have been given this title ‘cursed’ for the painting, rather the three women would
have been blamed. Women’s sexual interests, their initiatives, and their choice of sexual
partners are always denied when observed from the past. They are usually subjected to accept
sexual pleasure from their male partners without a personal way of choice or wishes. Women
are enclosed within a structure that either puts them into discrimination or subjugation. When
a woman and a man indulge in sexual intercourse, it is considered as a mistake only for the
woman and not to the man or not that extend faced by a woman. Women are those supposed to
beautify themselves but not allowed to show their dominance in sexual acts. Women who show

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their sexual photos or pictures are considered as so-called ‘bad’ in society, while those who do
the same are praised for the same. Here the woman is having sex with multiple partners under
her consent and she is enjoying the moment with great pleasure. The right of the woman to have
sex with people whom she loves is being questioned through the title. When observed from the
point of erotic capital, a woman’s body is her personal right and her sexual partners are her
choice. Nobody can question these and it will be like peeping out into other’s lives.

Conclusion
The theory of eroticism focuses not only on beauty and charm but also on the rights of
an individual in his or her sexual life. This particular concept of the freedom of a person on his
or her body is highlighted in this paper. Erotic capital and its social value are represented in the
paper. The title of the painting, ‘The Cursed Woman’ by Octave Tassaert, considers the woman
as cursed. The paper, using the principles of eroticism, concludes that having sex with multiple
partners cannot make a woman cursed and thus questions the very title of the painting. The
different ways of response towards the representation of nudity and sex, with respect to the
context and art form, are also analyzed in the paper.

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