The interpretation of sexual symbols in art is everywhere. But what we view as erotic often tells us less about the artists than it does about our own sensibilities.
With male nudes in full display, pornography a common source material, and explicit imagery the norm in galleries and museums, sex in art has become fun, disturbing, raunchy—even cerebral.
Artists, curators, and other experts name pieces that range from the suggestive to the explicit, Correggio to Clemente, Manet to Mapplethorpe, Indian sculpture to Richard Serra.