Editing I Modi (section)

=== Classical guise in ''Augustine Carracci's The Aretin or Collection of Erotic Postures''===
Several factors were used to cloak these engravings from ''Augustine Carracci's The Aretin or Collection of Erotic Postures'' in classical scholarly respectability:
* The images nominally depicted famous pairings of lovers (e.g. Antony and Cleopatra) or husband-and-wife deities (e.g. [[Jupiter (mythology)|Jupiter]] and [[Juno (mythology)|Juno]]) from classical history and mythology engaged in sexual activity, and were entitled as such. Related to this were:
** Portraying them with their usual attributes, such as:
*** [[:Image:Carracci Antoine et Cleopatre.jpg|Cleopatra's banquets]], bottom left
*** [[:Image:Carracci Achille et Briseis.jpg|Achilles's]] [[Shield of Achilles|shield]] and helmet, bottom left
*** [[:Image:HerculeDejanire.jpg|Hercules in his lion-skin and club]]
*** [[:Image:MarsVenus.jpg|Mars with his cuirass]]
*** [[:Image:Paris et Oenone.jpg|Paris as a shepherd]]
*** [[:Image:BachusAriane.jpg|Bacchus with his vine-leaf crown and (bottom right) grapes]]
** Referring to the best-known myths or historical events in which they appeared, e.g.:
*** [[:Image:MarsVenus.jpg|Mars and Venus]] [[Aphrodite#Marriage with Hephaestus|under the net which her husband Vulcan has designed to catch them]]
*** '[[Aeneas]]' and '[[Dido]]' [[:Image:EneeDidon.jpg|in the cave in which their sexual intercourse is alluded]] in ''[[Aeneid]]'', [[s:Aeneid/Book IV|Book 4]]
*** [[Theseus]] [[:Image:BachusAriane.jpg|abandoning]] [[Ariadne#Naxos|Ariadne on Naxos]], where [[Dionysus|Bacchus]] finds and marries her.<ref>Theseus's departing ship is visible on the horizon, top right.</ref>
*** [[:Image:Carracci05.jpg|The wide adultery]] of [[Julia the Elder#Scandal|Julia]]
*** [[Messalina#Reputation|Messalina]]'s [[:Image:MessalineLisisca.jpg|participation in prostitution]], as criticised in Juvenal's [[Satire VI]].
** Referring to other Renaissance and classical [[Trope (literature)|tropes]] in the depiction of these people and deities, such as
*** [[:Image:MarsVenus.jpg|The contrast]] between Mars's dark hair and tanned skin and his partner Venus's untanned, fair skin and fair or even blond hair.<ref>This trope did not fully exist in classical art -
in [[:Image:Meister der Aldobrandinischen Hochzeit 001.jpg|frescoes]] and [[polychromy|polychromatic sculptures]], Venus was always fair-skinned, but her hair colour could vary from brown through to blond – but became fixed due to medieval and Renaissance art (e.g. [[:Image:Venus and Mars.jpg|Botticelli's ''Venus and Mars'']]).</ref>
*** [[:Image:Carracci Jupiter et Junoncrop.jpg|Jupiter's full beard]]<ref>A trope copied from [[:Image:Bust of Zeus.jpg|classical]] ''and'' [[:Image:Carracci - Jupiter et Junon.jpeg|Renaissance]] sources.</ref>
* [[:Image:Carracci Venus Genitrice.jpg|The frontispiece image]] is entitled [[Venus (mythology)|Venus Genetrix]],<ref>An attested epithet of the love/lust goddess Venus, although under that name she was more a mother goddess than a love/lust goddess.</ref> and the goddess is nude and drawn in a chariot by doves, as in the classical sources.
* The bodies of those depicted show clear influences from classical statuary known at the time, such as:
** The over-muscled [[torso]]s and backs of the men<ref>Also, in [[:Image:MarsVenus.jpg|one]] or [[:Image:BachusAriane.jpg|two]] cases, the women's, though this has far less, if any, precedent in classical sculpture.</ref> (drawn from sculptures such as the ''[[Laocoön and his Sons]]'', ''[[Belvedere Torso]]'', and ''Farnese Hercules'').<ref>See also the modern phenomenon of the [[beefcake]] in erotic art.</ref>
** The women's clearly defined though small [[breast]]s (drawn from examples such as the [[Venus de' Medici]] and [[Aphrodite of Cnidus]])<ref>Though their [[:Image:PolyenosChrisis.jpg|thighs]] are often larger than in the examples from classical statuary.</ref>
** The elaborate hairstyles of some of the women, such as his [[:Image:Carracci Venus Genitrice.jpg|Venus]], [[:Image:Carracci Jupiter et Junoncrop.jpg|Juno]] or [[:Image:Carracci Antoine et Cleopatre.jpg|Cleopatra]] (derived from Roman Imperial era busts such as [[:Image:Domitia.JPG|this one]]).
* Portraying the action in a classical 'stage set' such as [[:Image:PolyenosChrisis.jpg|an ancient Greek sanctuary]] or [[:Image:Carracci Achille et Briseis.jpg|temple]].
* The large [[phallus|erect penis]] on the statue of [[Priapus]] or [[Pan (mythology)|Pan]] atop a [[puteal]] in [[:Image:CultePriape.jpg|'The Cult of Priapus']] is derived from examples in classical sculpture and painting (like [[:Image:Priapus Fresco.jpg|this fresco]]) which were beginning to be found archaeologically at this time.<ref>On the other hand, the posture in the engraving is not to be found in any known examples and is probably Caracci's own invention. Certainly archaeological examples usually ([[:Image:Mercury god.jpg|though not always]]) tend to show Priapus's erect and oversized penis hanging down, not standing up parallel with his chest as here, and give less importance to large or oversized [[testicle]]s than in this engraving.</ref>