Pornhub debunks 'boring' museum notion with virtual tour of famous erotic art pieces

With museums reopening worldwide as pandemic restrictions are being lifted, Pornhub is helping viewers appreciate the finer things in life by taking them on a tour of famous nude art pieces from museums globally as part of its Classic Nudes project. While some people might view museums as boring, stuffy or dull, Pornhub cheekily said these very same places house "a collection of priceless porn". As such, Classic Nudes was created as an interactive guide to some of the sexiest scenes in history at six famous museums including Florence's Uffizi Gallery, Madrid's Museo del Prado, London's National Gallery, and New York City's The MET.

"Join us as we tour the most respected institutions in western art, guiding you past all the prude paintings and going directly to the good stuff: representations of the naked body in all its artistic glory. Because porn may not be considered art, but some art can definitely be considered porn," the Classic Nudes website read. 

The interactive guide features audio commentary from brand ambassador and adult film star Asa Akira for 30 erotic art pieces while Pornhub amateur couple MySweetApple brings to life six iconic artworks. Each museum contains a map with various location markings to indicate the different nude paintings and sculptures along with tongue-in-cheek descriptions. The campaign was done in collaboration with creative agency Officer & Gentleman.

For example, to describe the painting of Hercules being crowned by the Muses, Pornhub wrote: "The buff guy wearing the extremely tiny banana hammock is Hercules, who you may know as that really tough dude from Roman mythology. He's just finished beating up some giants who had attacked the muses. To say thanks, the muse Calliope is getting him to inscribe his feats on a tablet (presumably while trying really hard not to stare at his itty-bitty bulge)."

The description added: "To be fair to Hercules, it's been pretty common to depict males in Western art with small ding-a-lings ever since the days of the Greek sculptors. That's because a big old dong was considered a symbol of foolishness and lust, and the ancients apparently liked everything in moderation… even their penises."

Alongside the interactive guide is a spot featuring former adult film star Cicciolina. In a voiceover, she says: "You may not know it but there's a treasure trove of priceless porn out there just waiting to be discovered. And it's been hiding in plain sight all along."

Akira said: "There’s a treasure trove of erotic art around the world – depicting nudes, orgies, and more – that’s not available on Pornhub. These pre-Internet art pieces are currently sitting in museums, which we are now finally able to start visiting again as covid restrictions are starting to lift." She added that it is time to ditch those boring self-tour recordings and enjoy every single brushstroke of these erotic masterpieces with her.

Classic Nudes follows previous artistic endeavours from Pornhub including the recently launched “Remastured,” an initiative that used modern AI technology and machine learning to restore century-old erotic films into "titillating technicolour". Previously, the company commissioned contemporary art gallery Maccarone Los Angeles to present a feminist art show entitled "The Pleasure Principle"and hosted the online premiere of SHAKEDOWN, the critically-acclaimed documentary art film centred around the Black lesbian stripper scene in early oughts Los Angeles by filmmaker and vanguard artist Leilah Weinraub.