Maybe a combo of

1. The artist, Anne-Louis Girodet, has been speculated to be what we would consider nowadays as gay. He is known for erotic/sensual elements of male figures, including nudity in a lot of his work
2. A long time form of racism against black men is that they are considered to be hypersexual. Large penises are attributed to them, evoking “savagery” - the ancient Greeks idealized the small penis. This form of racism persists to this day.