A depiction of a female nude in art offers a rich canvas for intricate symbolism. Whether they are viewed as admiration of beauty or exploration of fragility, nude paintings can prompt conversations about identity and prevailing social norms.
Courbet broke with academic painting and its idyllic, idealized versions of the female body. His representation of Olympia caused a scandal.
Danae by Rembrandt van Rijn
The painting Danae by Rembrandt van Rijn is a life-sized depiction of the character Danae from Greek mythology, the mother of Perseus. It portrays her presumably welcoming Zeus, who impregnated her by appearing as a shower of gold.
This is one of the most magnificent paintings by this Dutch master and it is believed that he treasured it. However, because of its size, it was not an easy painting to sell. In addition, it was seriously vandalized in 1985.
When the painting was restored in 1998, it was discovered that a person had sprayed sulfuric acid on the canvas. This caused the picture to change color, bubble and even deteriorate. Fortunately, the damage was not as extensive as it could have been.
Although there are theories as to the identity of the person who vandalized the painting, no one knows for sure. It is believed that he or she may have been an employee of the Hermitage Museum.
Rembrandt was born in Leiden in the Netherlands and is considered to be the greatest storyteller in art history. He was also known for his use of light and shadow and an uncompromising realism that has led some critics to say that he preferred ugliness over beauty.
This work is based on a tale from Greek mythology in which King Akrisios locked his daughter Danae in a tower or underground chamber because of a prophecy that her son would kill him. When she conceives, she turns to her guardian or nurse for assistance. The figure peeking from behind the curtain in this painting is actually Danae’s mother or sister, trying to see what’s going on.
Rembrandt used his wife Saskia as the model for the face of Danae. Later he replaced her face with that of his mistress Geertje Dircx. The painting is now housed in the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia. It was painted in 1636.
Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli
One of the most iconic paintings in art history, Botticelli’s Birth of Venus is the first full-body nude female to be painted for over a millennium. It was commissioned by the powerful de’Medici family in Florence, and was first exhibited to the public in 1815 along with its companion piece Primavera. It remains an instantly recognisable masterpiece and is arguably the first symbol of liberated women’s beauty.
The painting depicts the Goddess of Love, Beauty and Sexuality, Venus, as she is born from seafoam. She rises like a classical statue, her arms outstretched to modestly cover her nakedness, as roses bloom around her. She is flanked on the left by the wind god Zephyr and on the right by a female peer. The phallic reference of the bulrushes on the bottom-left might be an allusion to the Greek mythology of Aphrodite’s birth from the genitals of her father, Uranus, God of the sky.
The work was completed in 1482 and is painted on canvas, a medium that was common in Italy prior to the widespread adoption of oil painting. It was painted using tempera, a technique that involved mixing pigments with a water-soluble binder, usually egg yolk. Botticelli took inspiration from ancient vase painting and frescos on Etruscan tombs for this piece, but also drew on his knowledge of Renaissance sculpture.
Although Botticelli aimed to create a naturalistic work, his use of the brush suggests an attempt to evoke an emotion rather than simply record an object. He aims to convey that a woman’s beauty is a source of pleasure, but not necessarily for men, as it can be enjoyed equally by women.
The picture is arguably a celebration of the power and sexual freedom of women, and thus was not censored by the church. It is a precursor to more erotically charged paintings of the Renaissance and continues to be influential to modern representations of nude female bodies. One can only wonder what the future holds for this enduring classic.
Olympia and Dejeuner sur l’herbe by Edouard Manet
Edouard Manet was a painter who wanted to push artistic boundaries. His controversial paintings were met with outrage from his audience at the time but ultimately inspired many later painters. His most famous works include Dejeuner sur l’herbe, Luncheon on the Grass, and Olympia. In these two paintings, he depicts nude women in a natural setting. However, these nude females are not the conventional nymphs and goddesses of classical art. Instead, they are more like prostitutes or other women who may be found in the streets of Paris.
The woman depicted in this painting is a real person – the naked model was one of Manet’s favorite models, Victorine Meurend and she would appear in other paintings by the artist. In addition, the man posing with her is based on a friend and sculptor. Manet was a painter who often drew inspiration from everyday life and used real people as his subjects for his paintings.
In this painting, Manet shows a group of people in a natural setting with a woman in the foreground who is clearly a prostitute. The scene is surrounded by other men and women dressed in more traditional clothing. The main figure is in stark contrast to the other figures, with her pale skin and harsh studio lighting. She is also heavily outlined with dark shadows instead of the more soft shading found in the other figures. In addition, she wears no jewelry and has a pile of clothes around her shoulders.
One of the most interesting things about this scene is that the woman is not looking at her viewers. In most paintings, when a nude female looks out at the viewer it is with a coy or seductive look. In this case, the woman is looking directly at the viewer with a direct and confrontational gaze.
The way that Manet has portrayed the woman in this painting is meant to create discomfort for his audience. It is the juxtaposition of the traditional conventions of femininity with the female figure’s nakedness that makes it so uncomfortable. While the other figures in the picture are trying to remain complicit with the erotic fete champetre, this woman is refusing to follow the societal script. She remains her own woman and is unobtainable to the male audience.
Birth of Venus by Titian
This is an iconic painting from the Renaissance period and marks a turning point in the way artists depicted the female nude body. Previously, female nudes had been represented as Christian biblical subjects. In contrast, this picture depicts Venus as a pagan goddess of love and beauty. It also celebrates the beauty of nature, with roses being blown in from the right and the sea spray evoking the fertility of spring.
The backstory of this painting is derived from a passage in the mythological poem, Ovid’s Metamorphoses. It tells the story of how the god Cronus castrated his father, Uranus, and the goddess Aphrodite (or Venus) was born from the foam of his genitals. It was one of many paintings based on this story that Titian painted for Philip II of Spain as part of his “poesie” (poetry in paint).
In contrast to Botticelli’s modest Venus, Titian’s is unapologetically seductive and embodies sensuality and eroticism. She has a confident pose that encapsulates allure and femininity, while the small dog at her feet symbolises fidelity. Titian’s use of oil paints allows him to create a rich and subtle play of light, enhancing the painting’s realism and tactile qualities.
Despite her provocative pose, she maintains a serene expression. This is partly because the painting was intended to be viewed from a low angle, like a mirror or an altarpiece. It has been interpreted as a commentary on male sexual dominance over women. This theme is further amplified by the presence of a man playing the lute, which suggests that she is his object of desire.
This is the first time that a full-length female nude was depicted in a work of art by Titian, although there are other examples. This picture is significant in that it marked the emergence of female nudeness as a genre, not just in terms of its depiction but also in its externalization of female eroticism. It also influenced subsequent paintings of this type, including the works by Diego Velazquez, Peter Paul Rubens and Rembrandt van Rijn. However, the era of portraying naked females as an artistic genre would be overshadowed by the rise of Impressionism.