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

Exhibition | accessibility.time_to

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Exhibition

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.

The exhibition highlights the aspiration to greater freedom and the pursuit of hedonistic pleasure, and sets them against affirmations of the importance of marital love, the child and the family. At the interface of the public and private spheres, it traces a progression from first meeting through to childbirth, examining the controls on sexuality put in place by the authorities but also the “gallant” and erotic imaginaries, contraceptive practices and the gendered body. These issues are brought to life by everyday objects, some of them valuable and rare, and previously unseen documents.

The exhibition also hears from some 18th-century “experts” on seduction, desire and sexuality. They include Casanova, who travels through Switzerland in 1760 engaging in numerous sexual encounters along the way, and the famous physician Samuel Auguste Tissot from Lausanne, author of the equally famous book Onanism, which condemns the practice of masturbation.

Exhibition curator: Nicole Staremberg

 

Events

Venez passer des moments passionnants, ludiques, inspirants, instructifs ou amusants au Château de Prangins! Une large panoplie d'activités, spécialement imaginées et conçues pour différents types de publics et de groupes, vous y est proposée.

Une équipe expérimentée et enthousiaste vous attend.

Des visites guidées privées sont possibles pendant ainsi qu'en dehors des heures d'ouverture.

Inscription

 

deux semaines à l’avance

Durée

 

60 minutes, autres offres sur demande

Participants

 

25 personnes au max.

Langues  

Allemand, français, italien et anglais. Autres sur demande.

Coûts

 

 

CHF 120 pour la visite guidée, plus l’entrée à tarif réduit de CHF 10 par personne.

Entrée libre pour les enfants et les jeunes jusqu’à 16 ans.

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+41 22 994 88 90 info.prangins@museenational.ch

Guided tours

Publication

Et plus si affinités... Amour et sexualité au 18e siècle

180 pages
In French
Editions Antipodes, 2020
ISBN 978-2-88901-178-0

CHF 29.-

This book is sold at the museum shop, at bookshops or can be ordered info.prangins@museenational.ch or +41 (0)22 994 88 90

 

accessibility.sr-only.person_card_info Contact

+41 22 994 88 90 info.prangins@museenational.ch

Media

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

Château de Prangins | 21.5.2020 - 1.11.2020
published on 21.4.2020

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.

The exhibition highlights the aspiration to greater freedom and the pursuit of hedonistic pleasure, and sets them against affirmations of the importance of marital love, the child and the family. At the interface of the public and private spheres, it traces a progression from first meeting through to childbirth, examining the controls on sexuality put in place by the authorities but also the “gallant” and erotic imaginaries, contraceptive practices and the gendered body. These issues are brought to life by everyday objects, some of them valuable and rare, and previously unseen documents.

The exhibition also hears from some 18th-century “experts” on seduction, desire and sexuality. They include Casanova, who travels through Switzerland in 1760 engaging in numerous sexual encounters along the way, and the famous physician Samuel Auguste Tissot from Lausanne, author of the equally famous book Onanism, which condemns the practice of masturbation.

Exhibition curator: Nicole Staremberg

Images

Franz Anton Bustelli (d’après un modèle de), L’espion à la fontaine, vers 1756, groupe de porcelaine peinte, Nymphenburg.

© Musée national suisse

«Fidélité, sois mon dernier mot», témoignage d’amour d’Elisabeth Wild, 1810, Stäfa (ZH), découpage peint.

© Musée national suisse

Antoni Zanet, Lit d’angle à baldaquin avec extension appartenant à Balthasar von Planta, 1650, bois sculpté et marqueteries. Suisse (GR).

© Musée national suisse

Piguet et Meylan (attribuée à), Montre à automate et musique, or, émail, perles, laiton, poinçon FO dans un losange et No 8280 dans le fond du boîtier, vers 1820, Genève.

© Musée international d'horlogerie, La-Chaux-de-Fonds

Salomon Freudweiler (céramiste) d’après Johann Jakob I ou II Kuhn, Catelle de poêle : scène galante et escarpolette, 2e moitié 18e siècle (?), faïence peinte. Zurich.

© Musee national suisse

Johann Heinrich Hurter, Diane au bain, reproduction d’après un modèle italien du 17e siècle [?], 1776, peinture sur émail.

© Musée national suisse

Ludwig Georg Vogel (1788-1879), Joyeuse compagnie dans une taverne, 19e siècle, dessin à la plume et lavis, Zurich.

Affiche Exposition temporaire Et plus si affinités... Amour et sexualité au 18e siècle

© Musée national suisse

Tatiana Oberson

Head of Marketing, Communication & Fundraising

Château de Prangins +41 22 994 88 68 tatiana.oberson@museenational.ch