It's an ambitious project, aiming to explore representations of sex in art through the ages, but if you're hoping for a bit of smut you will definitely be disappointed - this is a highbrow affair curated by respected academics and including pieces by big name artists such as Boucher, Picasso, Schiele and Koons.

The good news is that it is all done with a sense of humour - the opening exhibit is an oversize fig-leaf commissioned to cover the ample tackle of a copy of Michelangelo’s ‘David’ in order to spare the blushes of arch-moralist Queen Victoria.

Fun it may be, but I doubt that Seduced will raise much more than a smile. There is something decidedly unarousing about erotic art when it is presented in such a clinical gallery environment. That's not to say that this exhibition is not interesting - it successfully provides a unique glimpse of changing attitudes towards sexual activity across the centuries.

Homosexuality is well represented in the ancient works on view (a couple of raunchy red-figure vases vividly demonstrate the Greeks' laid back approach to buggery), but then pretty much disappears until the 20th Century.

There is the odd old master drawing (from the collection of Her Majesty the Queen no less - who would have thought that she was such a fan of cheeky cherubs?) with coy depictions of Hyathinsus or Ganymede, but perhaps unsurprisingly it is only in the last few decades that erotic queer art has truly flourished.

The room containing Robert Mapplethorpe's 'X Portfolio' comes with a special warning that some may find its content particularly shocking, and indeed even the most open minded visitor would struggle not to shudder at some of the explicit sadomasochistic images on view.

The reactions of the viewers are almost as fascinating as the works themselves - it's hard to giggle at the sight of staunchly heterosexual men grimacing at these elegant black and white images of rubber, torture and fisting.

Warhol also makes a showing, with his short film 'Blow Job' projected in large scale onto one of the gallery walls. This piece is one of the more subtle works on show here, simply studying the facial expressions of a handsome young gentleman who happens to be in the process of receiving the aforementioned oral stimulation. Unfortunately, due to the fact that the blow job giver is out of shot, we will never know for sure if this is a gay work of art or not, but at least that gives it a pretty much universal appeal.

A slide show by Nan Goldin offers a stunning finale to this varied collection. With over three hundred ever-changing images of her friends and associates in private, intimate and loving moments, all set to the music of John Tavener performed by Bjork, 'Heartbeat' is a perfect example of the quality of work on display here.

It's been a while since the Barbican Gallery has put together a show worth seeing, but they have really got it right with Seduced. Make sure you book a ticket in advance to beat the massive queues - this could well be the most sexually fulfilling £8 you will ever spend.

Find out more at www.barbican.org.uk/seduced.htm

Seduced: Art and Sex from Antiquity to Now
Barbican Art Gallery
Level 3, Barbican Centre
Silk Street
London, EC2Y 8DS
0845 1207550 / www.barbican.org.uk/artgallery

Until 27 January 2008; exhibition open to over 18s only; daily 11am – 8pm

Want more? Then buy Gay Art: A Historic Collection by Felix Lance Falkon and Thomas Waugh online and save yourself some mony to put towards The Romantic Male Nude and Men For Men: Homoeroticism and Male Homosexuality in the History of Photography, 1840-2006.