Candaules, King of Lydia, Shews his Wife by Stealth to Gyges, One of his Ministers, as She Goes to Bed by William Etty. Candaulism is a sexual practice or fantasy in which a man exposes his female partner, or images of her, to other people for their voyeuristic pleasure. Candaulism is also associated with voyeurism and exhibitionism. The term may also be applied to the practice of undressing or otherwise exposing a female partner to others, or urging or forcing her to engage in russian artist wife relations with a third person, such as during a swinging activity.

The term is derived from a story involving ancient King Candaules who, according to the story, conceived a plot to show his unaware naked wife to his servant Gyges of Lydia. After discovering Gyges while he was watching her naked, Candaules’ wife ordered him to choose between killing himself or killing her husband in order to repair the vicious mischief. The term was first used in psychology by Richard von Krafft-Ebing in his book: Psychopathia sexualis. 1782 cartoon by James Gillray, depicting Sir Richard Worsley helping George Bisset view his wife, Seymour Fleming, naked in a bath-house. Isidor Sadger hypothesized that the candaulist completely identifies with his partner’s body, and deep in his mind is showing himself. The art collector and connoisseur Charles Saatchi has considered the influence of candaulism upon the work of Salvador Dali, citing episodes recorded by the artist’s biographers in which Dali’s wife Gala was displayed to other men. Robert Hanssen was an American FBI agent arrested in 2001 for spying for the Soviet Union and the Russian Federation.

It was disclosed that he had taken explicit photographs of his wife and sent them to a friend. This section does not cite any sources. Candaulism is a theme of A Dance to the Music of Time, the cycle of novels by Anthony Powell. In the Book of Esther the King orders Queen Vashti to appear before his guests wearing her crown and she refuses.