From hair extensions to lingerie, female body ornaments evolved for a range of purposes. Just consider the ruckus that accompanied American Apparel’s new 62-year-old underwear model, or the ire generated by Lena Dunham’s regular bareness on Girls.
From the divine to the Libertine, the depiction of naked females has been both provocative and a source of fame for artists throughout history. Here are six seminal paintings of female nudity.
Rembrandt van Rijn’s Danae
When you view this magnificent work, you’ll be transported back in time to seventeenth-century Holland during its Golden Age. The 17th-century Dutch master Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn painted this masterpiece using oil paints, a medium that allowed for rich texture and depth. The painting depicts a nude figure in her bedroom displaying sensuality and vulnerability. She is illuminated by a golden light, which symbolizes divine intervention or fate unfolding.
Danae is one of the greatest paintings by renowned seventeenth-century Dutch artist Rembrandt van Rijn, a master of depicting both emotion and atmosphere. This painting is currently housed in the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia. It portrays Danae from Greek mythology, the mother of Perseus, welcoming Zeus who impregnates her in the form of a shower of gold. The painting is a life-sized depiction of the character, with the model for Danae being the artist’s wife Saskia. However, he later changed her face to that of his mistress Geertje Dircx. A cherubic putto hovers above her head, adding an ethereal element to the painting.
Rembrandt’s meticulous brushwork brings out every nook and cranny of the painting. He uses a range of colors to convey the mood, and he accentuates the various shades on Danae’s skin and the glistening elements in the room. A fettered cupid also appears on the picture, a symbol of chastity since the Middle Ages, alluding to the strict seclusion Danae endured after being condemned by her father, the Argive King Akrisios, who was warned by an oracle that his son would kill him.
On June 15, 1985, the painting was attacked by a man described as deranged or bitter. He came to the Hermitage museum and asked workers which of the paintings were most valuable. Then he pulled out a bottle and poured its contents directly onto the canvas, which immediately began to bubble. He then cut the painting with a knife, leaving areas of damage near Danae’s head and outstretched arm. The man was eventually arrested and found insane.
Although the Hermitage was able to restore the painting, some areas of it remain damaged, including the face and arm of Danae. The painting is considered one of the most important works by a great artist in history and serves as a reminder of how fragile and precious art can be.
Manet’s Venus
The Venus of Urbino was a popular subject in Renaissance paintings, as it evoked the beauty and fertility of the goddess. Manet’s work deviated from traditional female nude painting, however, in its depiction of a woman who is not dressed or draped with fabric. In addition, the model carries flowers, and her pose is more upright than the relaxed poses of ancient nude sculptures and the Renaissance artworks that inspired it. These elements set the Venus apart from other ancient and Renaissance nude paintings, and make her appear less like a classical goddess than a contemporary women.
Although Manet’s work was controversial, he was not a prude. His models were real people, and he painted them in a realistic setting. The Venus was a reminder that the body is an aspect of life, and not just an object to be seen for its physical beauty or sexual pleasures. Manet’s painting reflects the idea that nude women can be both beautiful and sensual.
While some critics were scandalized by Manet’s depiction of a naked woman, the painting also challenged the visual traditions that had reduced women—real and painted—to passive sex objects for male consumption. This was a major shift from previous art, which often depicted women as goddesses or courtesans in mythological settings.
In contrast to Titian’s Venus of Urbino, Manet portrayed his model with confidence and assertiveness. Rather than a coy, demure facial expression, Olympia meets the viewer’s eyes with an unapologetic glance that conveys her sense of self-worth. She is also in a more upright position than most historical nudes, which increases her air of self-assurance.
Unlike some previous nude paintings, which featured a dog or cat as the “guardian” of the nude woman (to signal her fidelity), Manet chose to add a black cat to his composition. This hints at the sexuality of the woman, and adds to the sense of intrigue in the scene.
Manet also emphasized the modeling of his model’s hands and feet, which made them stand out from the rest of her body. This was a subtle gesture that further emphasized her sexuality, as it showed her body in areas that were usually hidden by her clothing. The fact that her hand was placed across her genitals was particularly shocking to some of the critics.
Hildegarde Handsaeme’s Nude Paintings
Hildegarde Handsaeme’s works evoke emotions and stimulate contemplation. Each of her paintings carries a story, a message or a mood that can be interpreted in myriad ways. In addition to capturing the beauty of the human body, each one is also an authentic ode to women. Her generous shapes and poetic bodies depict a fulfilled femininity that is reflected in her innate sense of balance.
The depiction of the female nude began to change as the concept of beauty in art changed throughout the ages. In antiquity, the idealised nude was a symbol of fertility and virtue. The first known depiction of a naked female body dates from around 30-25,000 BC, in the shape of a tiny statuette that was likely designed to be held. It is popularly called the Willendorf Venus, and although she looks erotic, she most likely served a religious purpose as a fertility symbol. Similar voluptuous figures appear in Indian temple art that dates back as early as the 1st century BC.
In the Renaissance, the idealised nude gained a new respectability after a revival of interest in plastic beauty and a rediscovery of ancient Greek art. Renaissance sculptors generally preferred male models, and female figures such as the Kouroi (funeral or votive statues) were often based on modified male templates. However, there were a few artists who portrayed female nudes that were not religious such as Leonardo da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man and Michelangelo’s sculpted and painted female Goddesses.
Following the rise of Christianity, portrayal of the naked body in Western art decreased drastically. For centuries, the only exception was within religious art with painted or sculpted depictions of Adam and Eve in their unclothed state (with conveniently-placed fig leaves) or images of an emaciated Christ to convey the message of suffering.
After the Impressionists came to prominence in the 19th century, the depiction of the female nude regained popularity. Picasso’s Demoiselles d’Avignon of 1907 was a subversive twist on the classical idealising tradition, showing four prostitutes drawn with near-Cubist unnaturalistic outlines and adorned with ancient Iberian sculpture masks, grotesque African masks, and a deadpan classicism swagger.
The Naked Woman
In her own words, this beautiful brunette with big natural tits loves to tease and fuck her husband’s stepson Jordi. He’s a cheeky little guy that always wants to pull new pranks on his mum. And she knows just how to punish him. She took his face in her hands and put her tongue deep into his mouth. And then she fucked him to the bone in a full-body cumshot! She’s a cougar to die for and her slutty skills are off the charts. She also loves to suck on her cock and play with her juicy tits.
She’s a wild and free spirit that has nothing to hide. And she knows that her sexy curves are a real turn on for the boy. This cougar is a true sexy devil that knows how to please herself and her young step-son.
The Naked Woman is a book by zoologist Desmond Morris first published in 2004. Its aim is to “examine the nature of the female body in a context of evolutionary theory.” And it certainly does that. But it’s a bit of a dry read, and one that could be more interesting had it not been structured in such a way as to be boring. It’s organized by body part, so if you’re interested in learning about pubic hair growth, for example, you’ll have to go through chapters on that specific aspect of the female body.
Another famous nude painting is Francisco de Goya’s 1790 work, La maja desnuda (The Maiden Naked). Here, the Spanish painter portrayed, perhaps for the first time, the pubic hair of a woman. He drew inspiration for his portrait from his mistress, a former prostitute. This was a scandalous portrayal for its time, as it broke the convention that only goddesses and nymphs were supposed to have such long pubic hair.
In 1910, Egon Schiele experimented with depicting a female nude in sickly colors. His female nude in red, entitled Female Nude, is almost a corpse-like figure with a vacant look. Yet her nakedness signifies the liberation of the female form from social constraints and opens a space for a more ecstatic perception of the world around us.