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Where Ethics and Aesthetics Meet: Titian's Rape of Europa

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 March 2020

A. W. Eaton
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Abstract

Titian's Rape of Europa is highly praised for its luminous colors and sensual textures. But the painting has an overlooked dark side, namely that it eroticizes rape. I argue that this is an ethical defect that diminishes the painting aesthetically. This argument—that an artwork can be worse off qua work of art precisely because it is somehow ethically problematic—demonstrates that feminist concerns about art can play a legitimate role in art criticism and aesthetic appreciation.

Type
Research Article
Information
Hypatia , Volume 18 , Issue 4: Special Issue: Women, Art, and Aesthetics , Fall Winter 2003 , pp. 159 - 188
Copyright
Copyright © 2003 by Hypatia, Inc.

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