"Eros and Venus. Desire that gives shape to love", the new exhibition at the MEB

The Barcelona Erotic Museum (MEB) inaugurated on Monday, February 9, the exhibition "Eros and Venus. The Desire that Shapes Love," a show that offers a historical and cultural journey through the representation of love, desire, and sexuality in Western art.

Eros and Venus. The Desire that Shapes Love proposes a journey through the iconography of two of the most powerful archetypes of Western culture since classical antiquity, Venus (Aphrodite) and Eros (Cupid), focusing on a historical perspective that understands eros as a vital force, erotic drive, creative power, and transformative experience. The exhibition, conceptualized by the head of the education and cultural mediation department at the MEB, sexologist Sigrid Cervera, now forms part, as a collection, of the MEB's permanent holdings.

The inauguration marks the start of Love Week at the MEB, culminating on February 14, Valentine's Day. The opening will feature a unique moment: the presentation and tasting of the "Venus Cake," an exclusive creation made for the occasion by pastry artist Milagros Ortiz Álvarez, inspired by the imagery of the exhibition and conceived as a dialogue between art, eroticism, and gastronomy.

The Erotic Garden, the exhibition room

The Erotic Garden, the exhibition room. The exhibition discourse is organized into four main thematic blocks:

• Venus is born: the body as the origin of desire, where the myth of the birth of Venus allows for the analysis, among other elements, of the female body as a symbolic, spiritual, and cultural space.

• Eros bursts forth: desire as a force that leads to encounter, as energy that overflows and also questions the social order.

• Love, pleasure, and warning: a core that addresses the ambivalence of eros as a simultaneous source of encounter and enjoyment, as well as disagreement and conflict.

• Eros and Psyche, where desire appears as an experience capable of transforming the human being and opening them to another dimension of themselves.

Through key works of art history, the exhibition shows how love and desire have been considered, represented, and problematized long before our contemporary era. From the 15th to the 19th century, the collection features reinterpretations and reproductions of works representing the history of erotic art from different schools and authors. Botticelli and his Venus; Giulio Romano and his Lovers; or Antonio Canova and his Graces, become the new inhabitants of the MEB's Erotic Garden, where the exhibition is presented.

An exhibition for Valentine's Day… without clichés

"Love Week is a timely excuse, but not the content of the exhibition," explains Sarah Rippert, Director of the Barcelona Erotic Museum (MEB). "With Venus & Eros, we wanted to offer a rigorous cultural proposal that dialogues with Valentine's Day from depth, not from cliché. The MEB asserts eroticism as an essential part of cultural history," states Rippert.

For her part, sexologist Sigrid Cervera highlights the exhibition's approach: "Love is neither just a feeling nor a romantic ideal: it is body, it is desire, it is projection and transformation. For centuries, art has been the space where these ideas could be considered and represented, even when they could not be spoken about. This exhibition invites us to look at eros, eroticism, as a foundational structure of the human being."

Special activities and public experience

Throughout Love Week, visitors to the exhibition will receive a surprise gift upon entry, conceived as a symbolic and "very sweet" detail, in keeping with the spirit of the show.

Additionally, the museum will offer the possibility of booking the Special Lovers' Tour, an exclusive guided visit by Sigrid Cervera, which delves into the sexological, symbolic, and cultural interpretation of the displayed works.

Art and gastronomy: The Venus Cake

The inauguration will feature the presentation of the "Venus Cake," a piece created specifically for the event by pastry chef Milagros Ortiz Álvarez "Mily," trained at the Hofmann School and with professional experience in projects linked to Rocambolesc, by Jordi Roca and Alejandra Rivas. Her proposal, developed with a focus on conscious pastry-making, establishes a direct dialogue between form, pleasure, desire, and aesthetics, broadening the exhibition experience beyond the visual.

Practical information

• Inauguration: Monday, February 9, 2026, at 11:00 a.m.

• Activities: Special Lovers' Tour (for couples or groups). Advance booking of date and time required. Email sigridcervera@gmail.com (T. 655 112 493)