The Sin and The Confession
The Sin by Heinrich Lossow. Oil painting. 1880
Vulnerable confession: Two years ago I stumbled on this totally scandalous 1880 painting from Heinrich Lossow. It’s called The Sin. I wasted no time in deciding to turn it into one of our postcards and I thoughtlessly, naively landed on Good Night and Good Fuck as the perfect copy to overlay on this instead of, wait for it—HOLY FUCK.
HOW DID I MISS THIS OBVIOUS OBVIOUS IDEA? Am I just a total dunce? Am I actually way stupider than I’ve chosen to accept? I mean. Seriously. About 6 months ago Mike and I were setting up at a show and I pulled these cards out to add to our postcard display and the first thing that crossed my mind when I glanced at this image (for the millionth time at this point) was “Holy Fuck.” Not to be witty or because I was trying to come up with new text for this one but because that’s the natural, genuine reaction I had in that moment to this original insane work of art. “Holy. Fuck. What a bold, ludicrous painting.” And then a split second later the actual double meaning of that phrase in this context dawned on me. I notified Mike immediately of my revelation and we just stood there speechless for a solid 30 seconds or so, completely shocked that that copy hadn’t occurred to either of us when I was initially designing this back in 2023.
Anyway, this revised version is now available in our shop. Click here to purchase!
More about this ballsy painting from heinrichlossow.com:
“The painting alludes to the scandalous Banquet of Chestnut, an event allegedly hosted by former Cardinal Cesare Borgia, son of Pope Alexander VI. The Borgia family played a prominent role in the politics and religion of the Italian Renaissance, making them a fascinating subject for artists and historians alike. The primary source of information about the Banquet of Chestnut is the diary of Johann Burchard, a protonotary apostolic and master of ceremonies at the Vatican. Burchard’s account is the only known written evidence of the event, which has led to much debate over the banquet’s historical accuracy. When “The Sin” was unveiled, it caused quite a stir among art critics, the public, and the Church. The painting’s explicit content and depiction of immoral acts, particularly in connection with the clergy, led to widespread condemnation of Lossow and his work. Lossow chose to depict the sexual aspect of the banquet rather than the chestnut-gathering courtesans. The reasons for this decision remain a mystery, but it has undoubtedly contributed to the painting’s notoriety and allure.”
The location of the original painting is currently unknown.
