Courtesans

The ancient Venetians had a rather ambiguous relationship with prostitution. It was both rejected and accepted.

Prostitution was rejected because it was seen as immoral and dishonest.

However, it was also accepted because the alternative was perceived to be sodomy, which is a mortal sin.

At the same time, the courtesans of Venice in the 1500s and 1600s were famous and celebrated. Important people came from all over Europe to enjoy their company. Kings, dukes and even cardinals requested the services of the most famous courtesans.

This ambiguity is evident in the following four prints.

They're from the same publication, the Habiti delle Donne Venetiane, published around 1610 by Giacomo Franco.

#1600s #Courtesans #Venezia #Venice #Women

Read more here: https://venetianstories.com/venetian-story/courtesans/

Reine de Joie par Victor Joze Chez tous les libraires / [1892]
1 print : color lithograph ; 139 x 94 cm (poster format) | Advertising poster for book Reine de Joie: Moeurs du Demi-monde by Victor Joze about a young courtesan, Alice Lamy, who has a relationship with an older Jewish banker, Baron de Rozenfeld.

#ReinedeJoie #VictorJozeCheztous #Demi-monde #VictorJoze #AliceLamy #Jewish #deRozenfeld #QueenofPleasure #HenriLaurens #third #first #Ancourt #Paris #ArtLiberty #posters #couples #ethnicstereotypes #courtesans #advertisements #color #french #lithographs #photopgraphy #LibraryOfCongress

https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2002719112/

No #kings, no #courtesans !

#trump #meloniatrump

La casa di Fiammetta 🔥👉 https://tinyurl.com/4rm4tnjn

#rome #fiammetta #house #casa #Rinascimento #renaissance #RenaissanceArt #palazzistorici #roma #arte #courtesans #cortigiane #borgia

Concubine — Grevembroch 3–156

"Concubine" from the Gli abiti de veneziani (1754) by Giovanni Grevembroch, translated by René Seindal.

#GliAbitiDeVenezianiGrevembroch #Clothes #Concubines #Courtesans #Prostitution #Sources #Translations #Venice

Read more here: https://historywalksvenice.com/translation/concubine-grevembroch-3-156/

Medieval Courtesans

#Devadasis were from South India and tawaifs were associated with the North. #Tawaifs were #courtesans attached to royal courts.

Devadasis were traditionally associated with temples, though some also performed in courtly settings. “Devadasi" literally means "servant of god" in #Sanskrit. “Tawaif" comes from an Awadhi term for courtesans.

http://inaniludibrio.com/2024/07/29/medieval-courtesans/

“In Andhra they were known variously as vilasini, kalavantulu, bhogam patra, nartaki and swamini, depending upon specific duty assigned.”

#courtesans #Indian #history #devadasi #art #culture #influencer #society #Telugu https://nasa2000.livejournal.com/52482.html

“Following the lives of five #courtesans… a “soft history” of the position enjoyed by tawaifs before the advent of Europeans, as educated, noble, dignified women; how their policies and judgments impacted their position among the royals; and how tawaifs’ role in fighting the British was unrecognized, confined to nothing more than footnotes in #Indian #history.”

https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/how-courtesans-were-not-merely-entertainers-but-cultural-and-political-influencers/article68148722.ece

#education #culture #influencer #society