The Bed in Art: From Titian to Emin

The bed has been the subject of multiple explorations in art, representing an ambiguous realm between something personal, intimate, and yet common to all. Most often associated with passion, throughout history the bed has also been linked to childhood, death, disease and other more unseemly acts.

In this live HENI Talk, made in collaboration with The Arts Society, Dr. Marie-Anne Mancio investigates some of the scintillating examples of 'The Bed in Art', ranging from Renaissance master Titian's stunning Venus d'Urbino, through Manet's illustrious Olympia, which shocked the Paris Salon of 1865, and Tracey Emin's infamous My Bed, a scatological work shortlisted for the Turner Prize in 1999, which remains a succès d'scandale and staple of modern art.