The Triumph of the Phallus  

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The Triumph of the Phallus or Procession of the Phallus to the Divine Vulva (c. 1700-50, French Le triomphe du Phallus or Cortège du phallus vers la vulve divine) is an anonymous engraving consisting of three 'panels'[1] depicting a phallic procession. It was made after a design by Italian artist Francesco Salviati (1510–1563).

Description

It is a pen and black ink drawing, brown wash heightened with white gouache on three joined sheets mounted on canvas; measuring 38.5 x 161 cm[2].

The engraving is inverted from the original drawing.

The left panel[3] shows two curtains held open by two putti, the curtains symbolize a vulva; the middle panel[4] shows the procession; the right panel[5] the phallus on a triumphal cart.

Description by Montesquieu

Montesquieu described the design in 1729 in his "Voyages", in the gallery of commandant Gaddi of Florence:

“Il y a une ébauche de Salvati, qui est un gros Priape, que des femmes traînent sur un char vers un C... avec une grande force ; elles ont une pique, sur lesquelles sont plusieurs habits de moines, qui en sont comme vêtues : cela forme comme une espèce de procession”[6][7].

"There is a draft by Salvati, which is a big Priapus, lying on a chariot, that women drag to a C... with great force, they have a pike, on which several monks' habits are carried, as if they were dressed with it: the whole forms a sort of procession." --tr. JWG, see also translation in Art and Love in Renaissance Italy

Whereabouts

The original drawing was perhaps in the collection of Roger Peyrefitte or is a part of the "L'Enfer" of the Bibliothèque Nationale.

Legacy

The print was the inspiration for the 'Dream Power' cover by Jim Leon of London Oz 36 of July 1971.

A somewhat similar print is Le Phallus phénoménal (1793–1794).

See also

• Triumph
• Eros in the Renaissance