the nude has been around for some time. this figure has recently been determined by anthropologists to be not a fertility symbol, but very early pornography
Terracotta figure, Columbia, ca. 600-1200 AD
Greek figure
Aphrodite, Greece
HerculesCapitoline MuseumRome, Italy
Two Witches, 1523Hans Baldung Grien
Benvenuto CelliniSaliera (salt cellar)1543
Cain Killing Abel, c. 1589Jan Harmensz Muller
Lucas Cranach, the ElderNymph at the Fountain1518
GiorgioneSleeping Venus
1510
Titian, Venus of Urbino , 1538
Diego VelásquezThe Rokeby Venus, aka The Toilet of Venus1647 - 1651
Francisco GoyaThe Nude Maya
1800
Francisco GoyaThe Clothed Maya1800
Nikolaj AbildgaardNightmare
1800
Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres, La Grande Odalisque, 1814
An odalisque (Turkish: Odalık) was a female slave in an Ottoman seraglio. She was an assistant or apprentice to the concubines and wives, and she might rise in status to become one of them.
Jean Auguste Dominique IngresOdalisque with a slave1842
Jean François MilletReclining Nude
1845
Gustave CourbetThe Bathers
1858
Alexandre Cabanel Birth of Venus
1863
Jules Joseph Lefebvre, Odalisque, 1874
the nude female figure here begins to loose her status as goddess or example of ethnic exoticism. she’s become a particular unclothed woman
Auguste RodinTorso of Adele1878
Auguste RenoirReclining Nude
1890
Frank DuveneckReclining Nude1892
Eduard Manet, Olympia, 1863confident, staring right at the viewer, this Olympia is
shockingly present in body, personality and seductive intent
Henri-GervexRolla1890
Henri de Toulouse-LautrecReclining Nude
1897
porn has always been with us, of course
all photos, c. 1900
Aristide Maillol, Mediterranea, 1906
Henri Matisse, Blue Nude, 1907
Egon SchieleReclining Nude
1917
Amedeo ModiglianiReclining Nude from the Back1917
Amedeo ModiglianiReclining-Nude
1918
Suzanne ValadonLa Chambre bleue1923
Tamara de LempickaReclining Nude1925
Henri MatisseReclining Nude
1938
Henri MatisseReclining Nude1935
Henry MooreReclining Figure
PabloPicassoLying WomanWith A Gigantic Hand
1945
Paul-DelvauxSleeping Venus1946
Manuel NeriMujer Pedada #31985bronze, 76” high
The Nude, 1972 — Naked, 2010
The unclothed female (mostly) body goes from nude to naked in the 2nd half of the 20th century
Edward Hopper, Girlie Show, 1941
Angelo di BenedettoBurlesque, 1941
Gil Elvgren, Gay Nymph, 1947
sold at auction for $286,000 in 2010
Tom Wesselman, Great American Nude, date?
even so, the classical nude carried onin various permutations...
Fernando BoteroSmoking Woman1987
Gary KaemmerReclining NudeFernando Botero
XX Nude1989
artist unknown,Germany, 2008
the ideal body is no longer required, or desired—the democratization of art and culture means that everyone is represented
artist unknown,Fat Suit Barbie
artist unknown,Hong Kong
Marina Abramovic, Nude With Skeleton, 2002-05
artists unknown,grave markers
Robert Graham wax sculpture, 1960s
Robert Graham Torso, date?
Robert GrahamGabriele, 1995bronze, 26” high
Robert GrahamTorso, 2007
Windward Traffic CircleVenice, Ca
Robert MapplethorpeDerrick Cross, 1985photo, 16”x20”
Robert Mapplethorpetitle unknownphoto
very much in the tradition of classical Greek and Roman art
Nicolas Africano, Untitled (Reclining Figure), 1998
and every possible variant from abstract
to porn, frequently making reference to classical
examples...
Helmut Newton, Bergstrom in Paris, 1970s
Velásquez, Rokeby Venus, 1651
Michael ThompsonVanity (Julianne Moore)
Ingres, La Grande Odalisque, 1814
Romare BeardenReclining Nude
1977
Mickalene ThomasA Little Taste Outside of Love2007
Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres,
La Grande Odalisque, 1814
Paul Harvey, Rokeby Venus w Monkey, 2006
Velásquez, Rokeby Venus, 1651
Velásquez, Rokeby Venus, 1651
Sam Taylor-WoodSoliloquy-III1998
Test ing our physical and emot ional limit s, Sam Taylor-Wood examines t he vulnerabilit y and fragilit y of t he human body, addressing t he major t hemes of life and death, and re‡ect ing on our own mortalit y. Whilst contemporary in feel and presentat ion, her work references the symbolism of Dutch st ill life and Renaissance paint ings.
Sexy figurative art is very current & popular (an interesting change from decades of the dominance of abstract. )
Sex and sensationalism has helped to sell a (perhaps) played out style.
John Kacere, Ileana
Mel Ramos, The Artists Studio #1, 1987
Sam Taylor-Wood
self-portraiture has long been a legitimate art form
RankinPainting Pretty Pictures
The boundaries between art, fashion and photography are gone
Todd Hido, Untitled, 2005the boundaries are gone I say!
Spencer Tunick, Dussldorf 4, 2006
museums have always been full of nudes. why not real ones?
Spencer Tunick, Naked (after LS Lowery)
Claudia Rogge, Ever After Purgatory IV, 2010
Vanessa BeecroftGuggenheim Museum, 2000
Beecroft dispenses with the annoyingly redundant depiction of the figure, and just shows... the figure(s)
Vanessa Beecroft
stages events/performances with live nude women
Chris Antemann, Feast of Impropriety, 2010sculpture: 16” x 39” x 15”
Martin Eder, Les Nus (The Nudes), 2008
confrontational?
a few prominent fine artists using the figure
nude and naked
John CurrinTheCripple1997
John CurrinThe Old Fur
201050 x 38 in
John Currin, The Conservatory, 2010, 68 x 44 inches
John Currin Hot Pants,
2010, 78 x 60 in
John Currin, Nice ‘n Easy
Lisa Yuskavage, Nana, 2005
Lisa Yuskavage, Kissing Cousins
Lisa YuskavageReclining Nude 1 of 55,Reclining Nude
2009
Lisa Yuskavage, Big Blonde With Beaded Jacket. 1997
Takashi Murakami, Nude Figure
Takashi Murakami, Male Figure
Takashi MurakamiMy Lonesome Cowboy
(sold at auction for $15.1 million)
Will Cotton, Consuming Folly, 2010
art* endures...
* in the traditional senses as expression, politics, concept, exploration, composition and sometimes as simple beauty
Antony Gormleytitle?, date?Canterbury Cathedral
Antony GormleyCritical Mass60 lifesize body formscast iron
Charles RayFamily Romance, 1993
Charles RayAluminum Girl, date?
Charles RayPuzzle Bottle, date?
Charles Raytitle?, 1991
Dana Major KanovitzInfiltrator, 2009
paper pulp, human and horse hair, mm, 38” high
Henk Visch,The Man Who Saved His Own Life, Looking Upmedium?, date?
Jaume Plensa, In the Midst of Dreams, 2009fiberglass, marble pebbles, resin, 86” high