A Matter of Affinity - Love and Sexuality in the 18th Century

A Matter of Affinity, the new exhibition at Château de Prangins -- Swiss National Museum, explores issues of love and sexuality in the 18th century.

Today sexuality, either overt or implied, is omnipresent in the endless flow of images transported by the media and the entertainment business. "Sex sells!" the marketing specialists all tell us. And yet: hasn't sexuality always been about dreams and fantasies? Above and beyond the act of procreation, it is now -- fortunately -- accepted in the West that the pursuit of pleasure should be founded on mutual consent and full awareness. But how did things look back in the 18th century? Where were the barriers of censorship, and where was the dividing line between acceptable and punishable? Were people able to choose their partner, or partners? A Matter of Affinity offers some occasionally surprising (but invariably documented) answers to these questions.