Sailors in Art (part 1)

 Sailors in Art

(part 1)

Sailors have often been included in art from satirical prints and erotic art of the 20th century, there is something about sailors and their dress that captures the eye and the imagination of many artists.

While many of these images are fictional aspects of the uniform or sailors' attire are always recognisable due to their distinct nature. 

A Modern Harlots Progress

Why are there so many sailors in art, there are a number of reasons, their distinctive uniform and clothing make them stand out, but also in the late eighteenth century there were around 81000 British-owned ships, mainly merchant ships, with just over 400 Royal Navy ships, this means there were a lot of sailors.

The Sailors Farewell

Many of these images are of daily scenes of life, but the sailor has also often been the figure of erotic fiction and images, from John Cleland's Fanny Hill in 1740 (and its later illustrations by Edouard-Henri Avril) and Thomas Rowlandson erotiques such through to modern erotic work in drawn or even photographic media from the like of Tom of Finland.

More on Erotic sailor art here, note this page is Not Safe for Work and is of an adult nature