Only Dr. Ruth could make old art titillating.
The 87-year-old sexpert therapist took a romp through the Metropolitan Museum of Art on Valentine’s Day weekend, focusing on the sultry details behind 19th-century works.
Afterward, she took to Twitter and Facebook, sharing videos with her accented, always-steamy cultural analyses.
Standing in front of Gustave Courbet’s “Woman with a Parrot” (1866), she observes that the splayed subject is aroused because of her erect nipples. Fun fact from Dr. Ruth: Men’s nipples also harden when they’re turned on. (Remember that the next time you’re gallery-hopping.)
Her guide, standing awkwardly beside her as she dives into anatomical detail, thanks her for her “unique” insights.
Dr. Ruth also ponders why, in Auguste Rodin’s 1897 sculpture of the French author Balzac, the figure has his arm hidden underneath his robe. Some sly hand-down-the-pants action, she presumes.
Flanking the petite Dr. R in these video commentaries is historian and professor Andrew Lear, who is known for research on sexuality and tours of New York City. His two-hour guided tours — Shady Ladies of the Metropolitan Museum, Sexy Secrets of the Metropolitan Museum and Gay Secrets of the Metropolitan Museum — highlight works in the collection that “uncover the sexy secrets of history and art” for everyone. The next Lear-led installments are on February 19, and March 4 and 6.
Dr. Ruth may not be there for those — but she would definitely approve.