The Art Of The Nude (NSFW)

"Bather Arranging Her Hair, Renoir, 1893"*

People have been painting nudes for countless years, probably since paint was invented, even though the depiction of nudity, in most societies is deemed taboo, artists will continue to paint them. Nudity in art, whether it is rendered in painting, drawing, sculpture or photography; in general, reflects our accepted social and cultural standards within the current time frame.

Statue by Thorwaldesen**

Depending on style or medium, an artist can bring out or exaggerate the features of the human body or attempt to render it as their eyes see it with settings diverse, oppositional, or apropos to the posing of the model within the composition. Nudes are not always painted to be sexual in nature and the viewer should observe the painting as a whole in the context of a work of art; and appreciate the human anatomy in its totality and depth, which may also give the viewer an understanding of how the artist’s mind is depicting the nude or understand how they are seeing the world in relationship to the painting as a whole; as the nudity is not the main concern in the painting.

Three Graces by Thorwaldesen**

Men have of course been painting women nudes for centuries, perhaps as an appreciation of the physical beauty of the female body and as for erotic art. More recently women have been making some inroads into the art of the painting nudes. But, both female and male nudes have been painted and sculpted in many sizes and shapes. With the intricacies of the human body, there is always a new challenge each new model.  Early Greek nudes and sculptures were predominantly of males, perhaps because there was the perception that the nude male was considered "artistically" more beautiful with better symmetry that the female body, which is a matter of conjecture.

"A Seated Male Nude", French 1705-1765*

My own reasons for painting and drawing nudes is because I like the challenge of painting the human form as well as because it still considered a time-honored quintessential art-form. An artist can both pay tribute to the beauty and intricacies of the human form, both male and female; and at the same time create a work that embodies a harmonious synchronicity that is both sensual and imaginative.

"Reclining Nude, M. Cisneros, 2013

I will add more of my work with nudes at a later date...as I will have to resize the files in order for them to upload. The painting "Reclining Nude" is available for purchase. Email me for a price if interested. To view more sites with artistic nudes visit: Novica.

IMAGE SOURCES

*"Bather Arranging Her Hair", "A Seated Male Nude," from the National Gallery of Art, open access images.

**Other sources: J.G. Heck. (1998) The Complete Encyclopedia of Illustration. Plates 448 and 447

"Reclining Nude" Acrylic on canvas by Marie Cisneros, 2013.