Heinrich Lossow, The Sin, 1880

This painting references the Banquet of Chestnuts, the famous orgy held at the Vatican on Oct 30, 1501. The banquet was hosted by former Cardinal Cesare Borgia, son of Pope Alexander VI. The MC of the party, Johann Burchard, wrote about it in his diary, saying that naked courtesans crawled around between candelabras, picking up chestnuts with their mouths. Then prizes were awarded to banquet guests who had sex the most times. Why Lossow painted this scene in reference to the orgy and not one of courtesans and chestnuts, we’ll never know.