Peter Hujar. Two Cockettes. 1971.

Origins of the word “queer” are unclear, however, by the late 19th century “queer” was used as a pejorative to describe gay men (Jones). It was not until the sixties and seventies when Gay liberationists started to reclaim the word from its offensive past as a positive self-description (Jones). Later, in the nineties, “Queer began to be used in a different way again: not as a synonym for gay, but as a critical and political identity that challenged normative ideas about sexuality and gender” (Jones). This is when Queer theory and Queer theory in art emerged. Queer theory in the realm of art explores how artworks can be perceived and analyzed through a perspective that questions conventional ideas of gender and sexuality. The photographer Peter Hujar (1934-1987) was a prominent figure in New York’s queer art scene starting from the late sixties to the early eighties (The Art Story). While much of Hujar’s subject matter varied, some of Hujar’s most famous portraits showcased the queer community in a way that had not ever been shown. Peter Hujar’s photography challenges dominant narratives of gender norms and creates alternative ways of understanding and representing queer identities and love.

Up until the eighties in New York (and many other cities across the country) to be outwardly queer was illegal. Laws prohibiting same sex relations and lack of laws prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation forced many individuals in the community to live double lives. The LGBTQ+ community has always faced prejudice and, at times, violence for authentically being themselves, which resulted in much of the queer community feeling the need to “hide” themselves to not feel threatened.

The focus that Peter Hujar gives to the expressions and physical movements of his subjects leads to “a body language and a gaze that register a certain kind of comfort with seeing and being seen for how one really is” (Adams 322-323). In Hujar’s black and white portrait, David Brintzenhofe #7, Smoking (fig.1), Brintzenhofe is dressed in drag with a full face of make- up, wearing an off the shoulder ruffled ivory blouse with a large multi-layered clear acrylic necklace and matching earrings. Brintzenhofe is holding a cigarette and blowing smoke out of his mouth while looking directly into the camera. The composition of this portrait is tight, David Brintzenhofe takes up the entire frame. His eye contact is strong and straightforward. In this portrait, Hujar has captured David Brintzenhofe strong and confident with an at-ease energy. It is clear that in Brintzenhofe’s portrait he is comfortable with being seen and I get the sense that he is even daring me to look at him. There is no sense of “hiding” in this portrait. In a time where both Hujar and Brintzenhofe could have been legally persecuted for being a part of this marginalized community, this portrait shows zero fear.

Figure 1. Peter Hujar. David Brintzenhofe #7, Smoking. 1983.

In another up-close portrait of Brintzenhofe titled, David Brintzenhofe Applying Makeup (fig.2), Brintzenhofe is shown at profile view with eye make-up and lipstick on his lips while he is holding a wand up to his eyebrow. His profile emerges from the black background and his face and the activity of him applying his make-up is the main subject of this photograph. Brintzenhofe is fully immersed in his make-up application and as a viewer I feel like a fly on the wall witnessing this fleeting moment. This portrait of David Brintzenhofe gives the viewer a front row seat to the transformation of a man into drag. Adams comments on the intimacy of this transformation portraits in his essay:

Figure 2. Peter Hujar. David Brintzenhofe Applying Makeup. 1982.

In the drag portraits, Hujar is less interested in showing drag queens performing and posing (though sometimes he does emphasize this), and more interested in the person behind the persona, or the process of staging a performance rather than the performance itself. Hujar wants to show his sitters as metaphorically naked – down to the “bone”. The star studio environment that serves as the setting for the photographs, rather than the oneiric spaces of nightclubs or the theater, helps to evoke this stripped-down, disarmed sense of self evinced by the portraits” (Adams 326).

Through this portrait, Hujar complicates masculinity by showcasing the man behind the persona and is challenging traditional conceptions of gender identity. In this portrait Hujar blurs the lines of what it means to be masculine and feminine. This is another portrait of Brintzenhofe where he takes up the entire frame which alludes to the viewer that he is an important enough subject to have the agency to have the focus of a portrait solely on him.

The importance of these two portraits showcasing David Brintzenhofe confident and at ease is crucial not just for the marginalized individuals at the time that the portraits were taken, but for generations to come. Showing a man transform himself into drag in such an intimate setting gives force to the ceremony. There is a subtle seriousness to the portraits and a sensitivity that can be felt while digesting the details of the subject. There is no underlying fetishizing or mocking undertones. The portraits were a defiant step in the opposite direction of what traditional gender identity and beauty standards were at the time. I can see how these portraits along with many other photographs of the queer community that Hujar took empowered the community in a way that felt pure and genuine. Hujar provided space for people who were on the margins of society to feel safe and seen by photographing them as they were.

Peter Hujar photographed people as they were, and his photographs depicted a human desire for connection. Hujar’s photographs offered an alternative way of understanding passion and love. In Jay and Fernando (Two Men in Leather Kissing) (fig.3), the two men in the photo are gridlocked in a passionate kiss with their eyes closed. One of the men is gripping onto the other’s face. The composition of the photo is a close, tight knit diagonal shot with a neutral background. This photograph could have been taken in a studio or anywhere with a bare wall. The lack of an obvious studio setting suggests that this was a more in-the-moment shot, not something staged for the purpose of a photograph. It’s crucial to highlight that this photograph was captured in the sixties, a time when men could face imprisonment for having relations with one another. Nevertheless, in whatever location this photograph was taken, Jay and Fernando opted to express their affection, despite the potential consequences. Not only did Hujar capture a passionate moment between two people but there is also a theme of bravery within this portrait, as well.

In Jay and Fernando (Two Men in Leather Kissing) (fig.3) Peter Hujar deconstructs the idea of romance and intimacy only being possible between a man and a woman. There is so much passion between the two men, and this portrait shows that this passion can and does exist. It forces the viewer to ask themselves, who is allowed to feel this passion? Am I allowed? And what does this type of passion look like to me? The purpose intended behind this portrait is not to try and promote same sex relations but to dare the viewer to think outside of the square box that society has drawn up and to understand that passion and intimacy does not fit neatly into a box, it can look and feel and be experienced with whoever and however one decides it to be for themselves. In Harrison Adams essay, “Shamelessness Without Shame” he touches on Hujar’s work “zooming in” on moments like the one captured in Jay and Fernando (Two Men in Leather Kissing), “Hujar’s photography zooms in on the moment of shame, gay or otherwise, to test whether viewers can overcome their embarrassment at the sight of someone (or something) else’s vulnerability or their own” (Adams 349). The act of showing intimacy with one another, especially at a time when you could be persecuted for it could warrant a sense of shame, but the portrait of Jay and Fernando kissing shows an act of pride. The themes of this portrait are layered and the longer one sits with this photograph to take it all in, slowly the layers reveal themselves and the deconstruction of one’s own personal beliefs and the traditional beliefs that society has placed upon its individuals start to occur.

Figure 3. Peter Hujar. Jay and Fernando (Two Men in Leather Kissing). 1966.

Deconstruction is a major underlying theme of Hujar’s photographs. While his ability as an artist is so strong, it could be hard to miss what other messages his photographs convey due to being distracted by the obvious beauty of the composition and lighting.

Figure 4. Peter Hujar. Candy Darling on Her Deathbed. 1974.

An example of this can be seen in the portrait he took of his friend, Candy Darling. In this powerful photograph, Candy Darling on Her Deathbed (fig.4), Candy is in full drag laying in bed on her side with bouquets of flowers sprinkled around her bed. There is a single stemmed flower placed in the front of her. Candy looks stunning and is reminiscent of a theater star after a great performance or a silent film actress waiting for her cue. But once the viewer starts to look more closely, one detects an overhead light that hangs over the bed, as well as the corner of a hospital tray table that one of the bouquets of flowers is sitting on. Then, it all starts to connect that Candy Darling is in a hospital, literally, on her deathbed. This portrait was made at Candy’s invitation and captures her in the hospital at the end of her life dying of lymphoma (St. Louis Art Museum). This portrait is powerful as it, “...unflinchingly confronts her pain and the inevitability of mortality with his own characteristic precision and humanity” (St. Louis Art Museum). In this portrait Hujar captures Candy Darling, a pioneering transgender woman at the

end of her life in such a beautiful, honest way. Candy is on her deathbed and mustered up the energy to put herself together in a way that felt most pure to herself. To capture this photograph of Candy lying in her deathbed and her choosing to make herself up in this way shows that her life was not a performance. Dressing in women’s clothes and wearing a full face of make-up was not a performative act, it was true to who she was and this portrait by Hujar lovingly proves it.

Since the inception of photography, images have served as a documentation of cultural and societal history. The power a photographer possesses is to have the ability to present precisely what they wish others to view, what they deem significant, and what they regard as beautiful. Peter Hujar was unwavering in capturing what he, himself, deemed beautiful. And while at the time he was respected and well known among his own community, he did not gain the recognition that he is now presently receiving. During the time that Hujar was working, he was a part of an outlier community, and he was a confident enough artist to not seek outside of himself or his community to gain commercial success.

So much in the world has changed since the time of Hujar’s photographs were taken and one may wonder, how these portraits from over fifty years ago resonate with today’s generation? While there are many answers to this question, one of the most obvious answers is that today’s generation is finally at place of willing to accept and embrace the deconstruction of dominant gender norms and alternative ways of understanding love and desire. Peter Hujar is not just a pioneer in the queer art space but in the field of photography as well. Hujar's art went beyond merely recording the queer community; it aimed to honor its variety, recognize its challenges, and inspire individuals to fully accept their identities. Peter Hujar observed the world around him and shared his vision through the medium of photography. He celebrated eccentrics and those who were outcasts of society. The work is not about defining a person’s gender or wanting to

make a clear statement (as you can see through the intimacy of his other photographs) but rather that he was waiting and wanting his subject to be themselves; and giving that agency to someone who has been marginalized in society, is extremely powerful and important. In a panel discussion with Pace Gallery, Peter Hujar’s longtime friend and director of the Peter Hujar Archive, Stephen Koch said, “He was the least political person that I ever met. We never talked about the Gay Liberation Movement” (Koch). Peter Hujar did not have to talk politics to prove his beliefs because the subject matter of his photographs spoke for him. Hujar’s photography challenged dominant narratives of gender norms and created alternative ways of understanding and representing queer identities and love.

Works Cited

Adams, Harrison. “Peter Hujar: Shamelessness Without Shame.” Criticism, vol. 63, no. 4, 2021, pp. 319–353, https://doi.org/https://muse.jhu.edu/article/842069.

“Candy Darling on Her Deathbed.” Saint Louis Art Museum, 8 Nov. 2024, www.slam.org/collection/objects/68292/.

Jones, Timothy W. “Reviled, Reclaimed and Respected: The History of the Word ‘Queer.’” The Conversation, 30 Jan. 2025, theconversation.com/reviled-reclaimed-and-respected-the- history-of-the-word-queer-197533.

Koch, Stephen, et al. “Cruising Utopia: A Conversation on Peter Hujar.” YouTube, Pace Gallery, 16 July 2020, www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJU5Xw-lZnw.

“Peter Hujar .” MoMa, 2024, www.moma.org/artists/7159-peter-hujar.
“The Peter Hujar Archive.” The Peter Hujar Archive , peterhujararchive.com/.

“Peter Hujar Paintings, Bio, Ideas.” The Art Story, www.theartstory.org/artist/hujar- peter/#:~:text=Summary%20of%20Peter%20Hujar,a%20truly%20rarefied%20print%20qu ality.

Titian. Isabella d’Este (Isabella in Black). 1536. Oil on Canvas. 102.4 cm x 64.7 cm.

An image can express a vast amount of meaning. This is especially true in sixteenth century Europe. During this period, imagery was rich with symbolism and held meanings that went beyond surface expressions. The sixteenth century marked the peak of the Renaissance in Europe; a time when art, intellect, and beauty dominated the cultural landscape. European nations were beginning to prosper after enduring years of conflict, and expanded trade brought significant wealth to courts and noble households. As individuals grew wealthy, they commissioned portraits of themselves or of their families to showcase their status. Having a portrait created became a mark of prestige. However, portraits represented more than simply wealth, and fashion served as a medium to communicate additional messages. In sixteenth century Europe during the Renaissance, fashion reflected various themes such as political allegiance, wealth, social standing, and religious identity through the medium of portraiture.

By the end of the fifteenth century the Americas, Africa and India were discovered (Boucher 221). Spain and Portugal were at the forefront of these discoveries and Seville and Lisbon were at the center of trade between Europe, Asia and the Americas (Boucher 221). The discovery of these regions significantly influenced trade across Europe. Merchants from all over Europe would travel to Seville and Lisbon to “barter for the produce of exotic countries, carrying home Egyptian cotton, Persian, Iraqui and Syrian silks...” (Boucher, 221). Alongside the discoveries of the new lands, Europe was going through a major political reorganization (Boucher 221). While Italy remained fragmented in city states, the Holy Roman Empire and France expanded their control over territories that once belonged to Burgundy, thus increasing their power (Klein 676). Fred S. Kliner notes in Gardner’s Art Through the Ages, “...by the end of the century (15th), through calculated marriages, military exploits and ambitious territorial expansion, Spain was the dominant European state” (676). As nations in Europe solidified their borders, courts “gave way to fewer, more homogenous states, and costume tended to express their ‘national’ character” (Boucher 219).

The Renaissance was in full bloom, with ideas about beauty evolving since the thirteenth century, and the notion of “ideal beauty” being expressed through literature and visual arts in both Italy and France (Boucher 191. François Boucher observes in 20,000 Years of Fashion, “Greater importance was attached to the perfection of the female body, and indeed, to outward appearance in general. In all the Italian states, men and women translated this search after formal beauty into costume, thus satisfying their taste for elegance, their passion for colour harmony and their aspirations toward a greater distinction” (Boucher 191). By the sixteenth century, the quest to attain the perfection of beauty remained prevalent, leading individuals to enhance themselves by wearing garments made of exotic textiles and adorning themselves with jewels in effort to embody the idealized vision of beauty (Boucher). While Western Europe was masterfully crafting luxury textiles and lace, it was a sign of extreme luxury and wealth to be in possession of items that were excavated or crafted in other foreign lands. These items were usually sprinkled into portraiture which served as a means for individuals to display these embodiments of status along with other intentional messages.

In Eleanora, Queen of France (fig.1) painted by Joos Van Cleve, Eleanora is wearing a brocaded bodice with fur lined sleeves and is adorned with pearls, rubies and other sumptuous stones. Without any context of who this woman is, one understands through her lavish garments,

Figure 1. Joos Van Cleve. Eleanora of Austria. 1531-4. Oil on panel, 71.3 x 58.7 cm

she is a woman of incredible wealth and social status. She is, however, conveying another message through her fashion. Eleanor of Austria was a Hapsburg and the sister of Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor (The Royal Collection Trust). Eleanora married Francis I as a peace deal after his defeat of Charles V at the Battle of Pavia (The Royal Collection Trust). This was the second marriage of both Eleanora and Francis I.

Typically, when a woman becomes Queen of another nation, she has been prepared throughout her whole life to renounce her previous upbringing and embrace the customs and fashions of her new country. However, this is not the case with the new Queen of France. While the bodice of her dress has a slight rise in the center which is typical of French style, Eleanora maintained elements of her Spanish style of clothing despite being the new Queen of France (De Young); Eleanora “maintained elements of her Spanish style of clothing as a deliberate and politically motivated attempt to preserve her Hapsburg identity at the French court. In her portrait by Van Cleve, the hairstyle and shape of the fur sleeves can be considered particularly Spanish” (De Young qtd. Reynolds). The fashion in Eleanora, Queen of France does not just serve to simply showcase her status but to also convey a significant political message.

In the portrait of Eleanor of Toledo with Her Son Giovanni (fig.2) painted by Bronzino, Eleanora’s husband Cosimo I de’ Medici commissioned this dynastic portrait of his wife, the mother to his heirs (Klein 661). This is another painting, where at face value, the woman being featured with her son are of obvious superb wealth and status. Eleanor is richly adorned with pearl necklaces, earrings and a pearled snood (hairpiece). She is wearing a robe woven in silk brocade with repeated motifs of pinecones and pomegranate which symbolize resurrection and regeneration in Christian tradition (Uffizi Gallery). These symbols are to represent The Duchess’ fertility. To further enhance a Christian narrative reference, the background of the portrait was painted in

Figure 2. Angnolo di Cosimo (Bronzino). Eleanor of Toledo and Her Son Giovanni. 1545. Oil on Panel,115 x 96 cm

lapis lazuli blue, a hue that was traditionally associated with the Virgin Mary’s robe (Uffizi Gallery). Bronzino also lightened the background around the Duchess’ head which created a halo like frame to create a tie between Eleanor and her son Giovanni and the Madonna and Christ Child (Klein 661). Pearl symbolism can take on many meanings, however, in the context of this painting, the subject who is lavishly adorned with pearls, is a wife and a mother; the pearls likely represent purity, faithfulness and fidelity. This expertly painted portrait conveys strong messaging through fashion that Eleanor of Toledo was a faithful, fertile, good Christian wife and mother.

Just as trends in fashion came and went for women, the same applied for men. In the sixteenth century, there was an emphasis on men’s fashion. It was important for men to be portrayed as strong, serious and composed and how they were fashioned helped them attain these ideals. This can be seen in the Titian’s portrait of Phillip II (fig. 3). When Titian painted Philip II, he was still a prince and had not yet inherited the role as King of Spain from his father, the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V. In Philip’s portrait, the Prince is shown wearing black armor decorated with gold engravings. He sports a ruffled collar that reaches up to his chin, framing his face. His legs are covered in white hose with his cod piece prominently displayed. In the portrait Philip II looks distinguished and austere; gripping a sword with his ringed fingers while his other arm extends toward his helmet, which rests on a table draped in luxurious crimson velvet.

Armor in this era was a representation of honor and respect (De Young). Cod pieces were often embellished in portraiture in effort to prove the subjects’ manhood, while hose was a way of displaying a man’s activity level by highlighting the muscularity of his legs due to his exertion (De Young). Collectively, these elements give way to the message that Philip II was a man of honor, dignity and was very much a man to be respected. This depiction of Philip II by Titian is appropriate, as he later emerged as a highly regarded and tactile military leader.

Figure 3. Titian. Phillip II.1551. Oil on Canvas, 193 x 111 cm.

The primary emphasis of portraits was on the upper class and royalty, while representations of the working lower class were infrequent. When the lower class did appear in paintings, their attire lacked the strong symbolism found in the portraits of Eleanora, Queen of France (fig.1), and Eleanor of Toledo with Her Son Giovanni (fig.2); the working lower class were not strongly emphasized on their own, they were painted into portraits to aid in the communication of a greater narrative. An example of this can be observed in Pieter Aertsen’s painting, A Meat Stall with the Holy Family Giving Alms (fig.4). A summary of the painting’s meaning is, “The objects in the meat stall are sources of food (nourishment for the human body). The depiction of the Holy Family giving alms (donations) to people in need represents a symbolic type of food (nourishment for the human soul)” (North Carolina Art Museum). This painting is entrenched in a greater religious message. The lower class is shown in the very back of the portrait, receiving the Virgin’s alms and they look to be in migration. They are shown wearing loose fitting, plain coloured clothes which is a stark difference from the pomp and embellishment showcased in figures 1-3. There is no messaging being conveyed here about the lower class, aside from their presence in this painting being used to convey a greater message.

Figure 4. Pieter Aertsen. A Meat stall with the Holy Family Giving Alms 1551. Oil on Panel. 115.6 x 66 1⁄2 cm

In Sofonisba Anguissola’s painting, The Chess Game (fig.5), a figure from the lower class stands out more prominently than in Aeersten’s, A Meat stall with the Holy Family Giving Alms (fig.4). In Anguissola’s painting, “This painting shows the artist’s three sisters (Lucia, Europa, and Minerva) playing chess—an intellectual pursuit with their governess looking over them” (Smart History). The Anguissola sisters are playing chess outside, with the chessboard resting on a table with a richly ornamented red, green and yellow cloth over it. Anguissola’s sisters are dressed in luxuriously embroidered silks with their hair styled in plaits and embellished with pearls and gems. Two of the younger sisters wear a strand of precious stones around their neck while the eldest sister, who gazes directly at the viewer, has a multistrand gold necklace on. The garments of the Anguissola sisters clearly indicate their noble lineage; in contrast, the governess is positioned at the edge of the painting, with most of her figure extending beyond the frame. She is dressed in a white bonnet and what appears to be a linen white smock. She is distinctively a prop in this painting, just as the chessboard is. These two props convey that the Anguissola sisters are sophisticated, intellectual young ladies and are of a proper, noble upbringing that enables them to have a governess. The only theme the governess conveys in this portrait is the theme of her superiors’ noble status.

Figure 5. Sofinisba Anguissola. The Chess Game (Portrait of the Artist’s Sisters Playing Chess).1555. Oil on Canvas, 72x97 cm

It is important to note that the Reformation took place in the sixteenth century and up until the seventeenth century. As a result, genre painting would become very popular in the Northern Europe, where scenes of the ordinary and portraiture of the working-lower class were depicted in their everyday life (Metropolitan Museum of Art). Although these paintings did not communicate messages through its subjects’ clothing, they hold historical significance as they provide insight into the lives and garments of the class majority who were not part of the bourgeoisie or aristocracy.

The sixteenth century in Europe during the Renaissance played a crucial role in shaping history for the next few hundred years to come. The impact that the discovery of the New World had on all the riches that would flow into Europe cannot be emphasized enough. Precious gems and metals such as gold, silver, emeralds, diamonds and opals were extensively mined in the New World and sent back to Europe; vibrant pigments that were made from tree bark, plants and insects were exploited to dye silks in exotic hues that no one had ever seen. These raw resources, along with other treasures from newly discovered lands, contributed to the immense wealth reflected in the portraiture of the Renaissance period. The use of these materials allowed for the creation of garments and accessories to serve to communicate powerful messages regarding political allegiance, wealth, social status, and religious identity through portraiture.

---

Works Cited

Boucher, François. “The Sixteenth Century.” 20,000 Years of Fashion: The History of Costume and Personal Adornment, Harry N. Abrams Inc, New York, NY, 1987, pp. 219–226.

De Young, Justine. “1530-1539.” Fashion History FIT NYC, 22 June 2019, fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu/1530-1539/.

Edelstein, Bruce, and Patrizia Naldini. “Portrait of Eleonora Di Toledo with Her Son Giovanni, Agnolo Bronzino.” Uffizi Galleries, 3 Apr. 2024, www.uffizi.it/en/artworks/eleonora-di- toledo#video.

“Joos van Cleve (d. 1540/41) - Eleanora of Austria, Queen of France (1498-1558).” Royal Collection Trust, www.rct.uk/collection/403369/eleanora-of-austria-queen-of-france-1498- 1558.

Kliner, Fred S. “Renaissance and Mannerism in Cinquecento Italy.” Gardner’s Art Through the Ages, D ed., vol. 15th, Cengage Learning, Boston, MA, 2016, pp. 661–676. Renaissance and Baroque.

Meagher, Jennifer. “Genre Painting in Northern Europe.” The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1 Apr. 2008, www.metmuseum.org/essays/genre-painting-in-northern-europe.

“A Meat Stall with the Holy Family Giving Alms .” NCMALearn, learn.ncartmuseum.org/artwork/a-meat-stall-with-the-holy-family-giving-alms/.