Nude in art
Art Essay Draft
The nude has changed dramatically throughout time in terms of its role in the art world. It has been used to portray a person’s power and their weakness, the way they see themselves and the way others see them. The majority of nude artworks are of the female nude, as highlighted by John Berger, ‘men look at women, women look back at themselves being looked at.’ Vanessa Beecroft, a contemporary artist deems to challenge the way society views the nude in both high art and everyday contemporary society. She challenges the way women are judged on their appearance a base concept that is seen throughout many pervious images of the nude in art. In 1599 Pieter Pauwel Rubens depicts just that, the judgment of a women based on looks - in his painting, The Judgment of Paris, which depicts Venus the goddess of beauty and love being judged as the most beautiful female by the judge - Paris. In contrast to these female nudes, during the renaissance, Michelangelo’s nudes consisted of mainly males. He used the nude to show both desire and strength as well as his devotion to religion and art.
The nude in art can been seen changing as society does throughout time. In the contemporary society we live in today, we, the audience, are more likely to accept the nude as part of everyday life because of the way mass media has influenced us as a society. However, before times when the nude was common sight and open sexual desire was seen as something preposterous, artists used the nude as a way of portraying their personal aesthetic ideals though religious figures, showing their love for both the art itself and their nude subjects.
Michelangelo was first and foremost a sculptor. One of his most famous nude sculptures was that of David – depicted in the moments before he defeated Goliath. Created in 1504, Michelangelo sculpted for four years to create, in his own eyes, the finest sculpture of David possible. Michelangelo’s own dedication to the piece highlights his
The nude has changed dramatically throughout time in terms of its role in the art world. It has been used to portray a person’s power and their weakness, the way they see themselves and the way others see them. The majority of nude artworks are of the female nude, as highlighted by John Berger, ‘men look at women, women look back at themselves being looked at.’ Vanessa Beecroft, a contemporary artist deems to challenge the way society views the nude in both high art and everyday contemporary society. She challenges the way women are judged on their appearance a base concept that is seen throughout many pervious images of the nude in art. In 1599 Pieter Pauwel Rubens depicts just that, the judgment of a women based on looks - in his painting, The Judgment of Paris, which depicts Venus the goddess of beauty and love being judged as the most beautiful female by the judge - Paris. In contrast to these female nudes, during the renaissance, Michelangelo’s nudes consisted of mainly males. He used the nude to show both desire and strength as well as his devotion to religion and art.
The nude in art can been seen changing as society does throughout time. In the contemporary society we live in today, we, the audience, are more likely to accept the nude as part of everyday life because of the way mass media has influenced us as a society. However, before times when the nude was common sight and open sexual desire was seen as something preposterous, artists used the nude as a way of portraying their personal aesthetic ideals though religious figures, showing their love for both the art itself and their nude subjects.
Michelangelo was first and foremost a sculptor. One of his most famous nude sculptures was that of David – depicted in the moments before he defeated Goliath. Created in 1504, Michelangelo sculpted for four years to create, in his own eyes, the finest sculpture of David possible. Michelangelo’s own dedication to the piece highlights his