When it comes to nude females, artists have long used the unclothed body to convey a variety of messages.
In the high Renaissance, Titian established new compositional rules with his female nudes and endorsed social and political messages.
Today, feminist artists like Clarity Haynes paint erotic works that challenge traditional notions of beauty. But she says they still meet resistance from museums and other institutions.
Rembrandt’s Danae
This painting may not be Rembrandt’s most famous, but it certainly is his most beautiful. The eight-by-ten canvas depicts Danae, a figure from Greek mythology, the mother of Perseus. In the painting she welcomes Zeus, who arrives in the form of a shower of gold. The painting was painted in 1636 and is now at the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia.
The painting is filled with sensuality and passion. The naked body of Danae is highlighted with golden light that adds to the beauty and allure of the painting. Her hands are raised in a gesture of welcome, and the whole picture is reminiscent of the moment when a woman feels a love for someone that she can’t quite contain.
Rembrandt was a master at capturing the emotions of his subjects, and this is one of his best. The painter wanted to capture the allure of his subject as well as her vulnerability and strength. His loose brushwork technique allows the viewer to see how much effort he put into the painting and how he was able to convey the story of Danae through his work.
Although the painting depicts Danae receiving rain from Zeus, the figure of a maidservant on the left is not traditionally part of this mythological tale. However, the maidservant adds to the sensuous allure of the piece. Her appearance also adds to the idea that Danae is in some kind of seclusion, possibly as a result of a curse placed on her by her father, the Argive King Acrisios.
The fettered cupid is another unusual feature of this painting that has led to some previous objections. Despite her protestations of innocence, it is clear that the princess is not completely free to welcome her lover. The fettered cupid is a symbol of chastity and a reminder of the fact that Danae was kept in strict seclusion by her father due to an oracle that predicted her son would kill him.
Although the story of Danae and Zeus has been a longtime favorite of European painters, Rembrandt added a twist that made this particular image even more fascinating. The artist used the Danae painting as a way to explore his feelings for his wife, Saskia. The couple had lost several children, including their first child who lived only a few months, and so Rembrandt created this beautiful portrait to remind them of their love.
Manet’s Olympia
Edouard Manet’s masterpiece Olympia caused a scandal when it was first exhibited in Paris in 1863. It depicts a naked woman who looks confident and confrontational, challenging traditional notions of femininity and beauty. It also challenged societal norms regarding class and race. During this time, nude paintings were usually only accepted if they were mythological or allegorical. Manet’s painting was a bold break from this tradition, and it is considered one of the most influential works of the nineteenth century.
Manet took the classical model for his painting from Titian’s Venus of Urbino, but instead of attempting to make it look authentic, he chose to present it as a work of art in its own right. He also used a more realistic portrayal of the figure, instead of the idealized, slender forms seen in most of the Renaissance art that had preceded it. The painting’s rough brushstrokes and lack of depth further contributed to its sense of reality, making it much more shocking than its illustrious inspiration.
Another factor that added to the shock of Olympia was the sitter’s body language. In contrast to the coy, demure facial expression of Venus in Titian’s painting, the sitter in this piece appears confident and proud, with her arms crossed and her gaze directly engaging the audience. In this way, Manet was redefining what it meant to be a woman.
In addition to the nude sitter, Manet included a fully dressed maid to further emphasize the difference between the two figures. The maid’s face is a perfect example of how Manet was challenging traditional ideas about race and class at the time, and how his painting was viewed as a threat to society.
Although Manet’s painting of Olympia caused a scandal at the time, it has since become an iconic work of art. It is widely regarded as the first modern work of art, and it helped pave the way for future artistic movements, including the feminist movement. Olympia continues to be an important symbol for women’s rights and equality, especially in the 1970s when it was used by Black feminists as a way of criticizing and resisting stereotypes about black women.
Goya’s Danae
The painting Danae Receiving the Golden Rain was one of six works that Goya made to fulfil a commission from Philip II of Spain. It is now part of the Wellington Collection at Apsley House and it’s a fascinating example of how the Inquisition handled art and morality in 18th century Spain.
While the overall composition remained the same across all versions, the details differed from one to the next. For instance, the voluptuous figure of Danae hardly changes in any of the paintings, but her pose and action vary. In the Naples version she is standing upright and looking upward, while in the Madrid and Chicago versions she is reclining on her bed with Cupid to her right and holding out a cloth or dish in an attempt to catch the shower of gold coins falling from the sky. This allows a number of sophisticated counterpoints: youth versus old age, beauty versus loyalty, and a nude body versus a dressed one.
As the title suggests, this picture depicts Danae, wife of the King of Argos and mother of Perseus, being visited by Zeus. The shower of gold rain represents the divine shower that Zeus used to impregnate Danae in order to fulfill a prophecy that she would give birth to a hero and slay a monster.
This frank portrayal of Danae’s sexuality must have shocked the painting’s early viewers, although similar depictions of desire were common in many Symbolist works. The eroticism of this picture is heightened by the glistening flesh, the flamboyant drapery, and the bold colouring. The overall effect is a work that is both seductive and terrifying.
Like many other of Goya’s works, Danae is a potent anti-war statement, rebuking the nations that wage war on each other and reminding us that these acts of destruction are not just between abstract entities like countries, but between human beings. It is also a reminder that we are all capable of extreme acts of violence, even if it is in our defence. A striking fine art print of this piece is available here.
Michelangelo’s Venus
As one of the greatest works of Italian Renaissance art, it is a staple in museums and galleries around the world. But did you know that there are several versions of this iconic sculpture?
Michelangelo’s Venus of Rags is a reimagining of the statue originally created by Apelles in the 1480s. The original work is currently housed at the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy.
The statue was first sculpted in marble between the years of 130 and 100 BCE. The name of the statue is derived from the Greek mythology wherein Paris gave in to the irresistible bribe of a beautiful woman from Aphrodite and thus, awarded her the statue of beauty. Initially, the statue was attributed to the sea goddess Amphitrite (especially worshipped on the island of Melos) until an inscription discovered near the statue was reinterpreted to suggest it might actually be a depiction of Aphrodite.
As a result, the Venus de Milo is sometimes referred to as the Aphrodite of Melos. This attribution was not, however, the intention of the artist. The statue embodies the idea of the divine feminine – the ideal of beauty in both its physical and spiritual aspects. Its silent beauty has been embraced by feminist groups who used it to protest rape and sexism; while the lack of arms makes it difficult to identify with a particular gender or even age, the statue remains a symbol of feminine beauty.
Although the statue was modeled on Greek models, particularly High Classical Greek sculpture (the aloofness of the head is derived from 6th century BCE models), it incorporates innovative ideas that exemplify the Florentine school of painting of the time. These include the ruffled texture of the drapery and the spiral composition of the figure, which gives the body an S-shaped movement.
The Venus of Rags has been replicated by Pistoletto in both gold and concrete. A gold-plated version is exhibited at the Toyota Museum of Contemporary Art in Japan and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C. Pistoletto’s interpretation of the statue reflects on the concept of Arte Povera, an art movement that originated in the mid to late 1960s. The guiding principle of this movement was to go back to the basics-to reach to nature, the mundane, the everyday, even classical antiquity (thus anticipating Post-Modernism).