24/05/2026
"Der edle Akt. Porzellan und Er**ik"
Special Exhibition, Museum Schloss Fürstenberg
Curated by Dr. Christian Lechelt
23 May – 20 December 2026
N**e bodies, tender embraces, provocative poses: European porcelain art is full of erotic motifs and messages—and sometimes the material itself seems to flirt. Our exhibition invites visitors to take a closer look: since the eighteenth century, eroticism, s*xuality, and gender have played a surprisingly explicit role in delicate, gleaming figures and vessels.
Between Rococo frivolity and contemporary body politics unfold stories of desire and longing, of social rules, taboos—and their pleasurable transgression. Experience how porcelain not only depicts erotic motifs, but itself becomes charged: as an object of desire, a surface for projection, an art form that reveals more than it conceals.
The subject is explored in four exhibition sections:
Images of the Body in the Old Chapel
Here visitors can trace how the human body has been represented from the eighteenth century to the present day. The beauty ideals of each era become visible, as do concepts of gender identity and the associated role expectations. Up until the late twentieth century, representations of idealized white bodies from a binary, heteronormative perspective predominated. This section of the exhibition invites visitors to question contemporary—and even their own—images of the body.
Facets of Desire and Love in the Gerverot Hall
Tender infatuation, passionate love, wild ecstasy, raging desire, heartbreaking longing—the experience of desire encompasses a multitude of emotions. Between the joys and sorrows of love swings the pendulum of lust as a profoundly human trait. In the past, art production was largely shaped by a heteronormative and predominantly male gaze. Works from the contemporary period and recent decades celebrate the diversity of desire.
Material Eroticism in the Foyer before the Visitor Workshop
The word “porcelain” evokes many associations—including erotic ones: “porcelain skin” describes an ideal of beauty, while a “porcelain doll” evokes a particular type of woman. And why is porcelain so often regarded as a “feminine” material? This section also addresses practical erotic uses, such as the production of s*x toys from porcelain.
The Pleasure of Collecting in the Visitor Workshop
Collecting can be interpreted as highly erotic: the pleasurable hunt for an object of desire, the feelings of happiness upon successful acquisition… For Sigmund Freud, collecting was ultimately only a compensation for unfulfilled s*xual desires. This exhibition section presents three historical collectors—Augustus II the Strong, Madame de Pompadour, and Rudolf Just—for whom the possession of porcelain held very different, but always pleasurable, meanings. In addition, through the staging of an entire private collection, visitors are offered a look “inside the head of a collector,” based on recent American research in neuropsychology.
For events:https://www.fuerstenberg-schloss.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Flyer-Der-edle-Akt.pdf
For Museum:
https://www.fuerstenberg-schloss.com/
