Despite the pervasive sexual energy of Caballero's works, copulation is seldom shown, although it is occasionally implied by the organization of the bodies (for instance, by the placement of one figure directly behind another). However, rather than representing moments of sexual climax, Caballero generally preferred to evoke either frenzied foreplay or the lassitude following erotic satiation.

Sponsor Message.

Fascinated by accounts of Christian martyrs who ecstatically died for the love of Jesus, Caballero sought to infuse his depictions of men with the mystical intensity of Catholic religious paintings. To emphasize the parallels with traditional Catholic imagery, Caballero frequently created works in the triptych (that is, three panels) format, widely used for altarpieces in the Renaissance and Baroque eras. In a large (untitled) triptych, now in the Galería Garcés Velázquez y Beatriz Caballero, Bogotá (total measurements of 76 ¾ [height] x 153 ½ inches; 195 x 390 cm.), Caballero showed six figures, who seem to have fallen one over the other in contorted poses. It is unclear whether these men have just endured martyrdom or if they simply have succumbed to exhaustion following passionate lovemaking. Flashes of lightening intensify the dramatic power of this scene.

Final Years

By around 1990, Caballero's work had become increasingly sinister and dark, both in mood and in physical appearance. By defining figures primarily with harsh, angular lines, Caballero also intensified the aggressive mood of his compositions. He had long favored brownish and grayish tonalities, but he now restricted these to the most somber ranges, relieving them only by splotches of blood red. Although still ambiguous, the interactions of the figures in the later works seem more explicitly brutal and less erotically suggestive than in the earlier images.

Thus far, virtually all commentators have related this dramatic shift to an increasing preoccupation with war and other manifestations of political violence. However, Caballero never revealed any strong involvement with social issues other than freedom of sexual expression. Therefore, it seems more likely that the transformation in his work is connected with the deterioration of his health as a result of AIDS.

In 1995, Caballero returned to Bogotá, and he died there on June 19, 1995. The following year, the city of Bogotá established in his memory the Premio Luis Caballero, a major artistic prize, based on a competition among prominent Latin American artists, thirty-five years and older.

Although Caballero felt compelled to move to France in order to express his homosexuality, he is respected in his native country as one of the most important Colombian artists of all time. During the 1990s, major retrospectives of his achievements in Bogotá (for example, at the Luis Angel Arango Library, 1995, and National Museum, 1997) encouraged frank public discussion of the aspects of his images. Undoubtedly, this stimulus to greater tolerance for sexual diversity would have pleased the artist, who conveyed so eloquently the profound interactions of sensuality with other aspects of experience.

Although glbtq persons in Colombia continue to be the victims of discrimination and violent hate crimes because of their sexual orientation, civil rights progress has been made in recent years.

Contemporary Art, which designates new currents in art since 1970, is identified with postmodernism; during this period an art addressing gay and lesbian identity emerged.

Gay and lesbian Latin American artists frequently use their art to portray their desire for sexual and political liberation, often combining traditional subject matter with personal symbols and insights to stress their longing for acceptance.

Widely recognized as Britain's most important twentieth-century painter, Francis Bacon creates beautifully composed works featuring violent subject matter that at once repels and attracts.

The most original painter of early seventeenth-century Europe, Caravaggio imbues his art with homoeroticism.

The most famous artist who ever lived, Michelangelo left an enormous legacy in sculpture, painting, drawing, architecture, and poetry; while the artist's sexual behavior cannot be documented, the homoerotic character of his drawings, letters, and poetry is unmistakable.