Cassetto dei Peni (Drawer of Dicks) by Scott Trousselot

Artist

Until the 1400s, Romans were traditionally inspired by Greek art. The ancient marble sculptures were chiselled as a nude body that represented honour and virtue. These naked idols symbolized purity.

In the 1500s, acts of art censorship began when the Counter-Reformation took over the Vatican. Sculptures portraying nudity were seen as immodest and obscene. Appendages from statues were removed and replaced with fig leaves. In their wisdom the appendages were kept and stored away in drawers.

On loan from the ‘Vatican Genitalia Archive’ in Rome