Narcissus in Relation to Queer Scholarship
The Cothren and D’Alleva chapter on Psychoanalysis uses the example of Caravaggio’s Narcissus to discuss the presence of self reflection and the tensions of the mirror stage presented in the iconography. Given the psychoanalytic implications- and their close relationship with queer revision in art history- as well as the use of an example by Caravaggio, I wished to dissect the queer implications of the Narcissus iconography.
The story of Narcissus centers around a young man who withers away after falling in love with his own reflection. He becomes so enamored with his reflection that he grows obsessed and cannot live away from his own image. This narrative was taken on by the historically viewed bisexual painter Caravaggio as well was the inspiration behind the gay writer Oscar Wilde’s novel The Picture of Dorian Grey. Given the iconographical connection between these two historical figures, the Narcissus figure suggests a queer identity within its narrative.
As Narcissus falls in love with his own reflection, he falls for the image of a young man himself. This representation provides a metaphor for gay adoration and the self-reflective process of homosexual attraction. This is further expressed in Caravaggio’s interpretation given his use of a fair-haired, young model. His model bends down suggestively and is both expressing self-confidence as well as suggestive allure toward the viewer. This modality of expressing the character relays a homoerotic interaction between model and artist and artist and painting. Caravaggio places his own attractions within Narcissus to relay his own homoerotic feelings. Similarly, Wilde’s novel discusses a young man’s adoration with his own self-portrait and his desire to remain young and beautiful forever, as his painting ages. The protagonist, Dorian, watches as his self-portrait gets further and further corrupted and aged through the lifestyle he leads. As the painting withers, he remains beautiful. This narrative reflects the queer desire to live out one’s homoerotic feelings freely and without consequence in a deeply heterosexually charged world. The corruption of the Dorian’s portrait reflects the judgement and grotesque reactions that a gay man would face at this time in history.
Reading Sources:
Cothren, Michael, and Anne D’Alleva. Methods and Theories of Art History Third Edition. London: Laurence King Publishing, 2021.
Featured Image:
Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio. c. 1597 (also dated c. 1608-10). Narcissus. painting. Place: Galleria nazionale d’arte antica nel Palazzo Corsini. https://library-artstor-org.libproxy.uoregon.edu/asset/SCALA_ARCHIVES_1039489038.