Naked females are a common feature in both film and television. Nudity is often a signifier of power and sex appeal, but it can also be a point of objectification.
As a result, some female performers are uncomfortable with stripping and denounce the practice. Emilia Clarke, for example, has spoken about how she feels “terrifying” when film-makers demand that she do it.
Edouard Manet
One of the most scandalous paintings in nineteenth century art was Edouard Manet’s ‘The Luncheon on the Grass’ (1863). The painting depicts a naked female who is sitting next to two men in modern dress. This painting caused a lot of controversy for several reasons, but mainly because it was a very offensive and shocking depiction of a nude woman.
The reason for this was because it broke the traditional pretenses of idealized female nudes that were popular in the past. These include the Venus of Urbino by Titian and The Birth of Venus by Botticelli. These depictions were supposed to represent goddesses or mythological creatures and not real people, like the naked female in Manet’s painting.
Another reason for the shock was that Manet’s brushwork was much looser than usual and it was a departure from Renaissance painting techniques. The painting was also distorted in the way that it rendered space.
After the painting was shown at the Paris Salon in 1865, it became one of the most scandalous and controversial works in the history of painting. Many people were offended by the image and it was a huge problem for the artists involved.
However, Manet was able to use this to his advantage. He had an upper middle class background, so it was easy for him to get into influential circles in Paris. He was a gregarious guy and had many friends in the bourgeoisie who would meet for afternoon drinks in the Tuileries Gardens.
During this time he was very close to Victorine Meurent, who was a regular model for him. She was a very well-known and popular model at the time.
Her hair was upswept, her clothes were heaped on her lap, and she even had a black cat, which was a common symbol of prostitutes at that time. She was a great model for him and her appearance was reflected in most of his paintings.
Then, only a couple of years later, Manet produced the famous ‘Olympia’ that is now considered to be one of the most scandalous paintings ever created. It was based on the Venus of Urbino by Titian, but replaced all the details with alternative counterparts. It was an act of satire that was both a success and a scandal.
Gustave Courbet
When Gustave Courbet painted the nude, he was aiming to create a new language of flesh. It was a challenge for him to paint the real presence of a woman without getting caught up in the romantic ideals of what a female body should look like.
He had a close relationship with the Old Masters, and his paintings were influenced by their technical mastery of painting the human body. He also had a strong desire to challenge social conventions and norms.
Courbet was an inventor of Realism, a movement that challenged conventional ways of painting. His nudes often defied the norms of realism, and some were scandalous enough to shock even his contemporaries.
One of his best-known works, The Origin of the World (1862), is an eerie depiction of a naked woman with her legs spread, displaying the contours of a universal female body. The painter believed that the nude was the origin of all humans, and he used it to evoke a sense of the sacred.
In a more erotic work, Women with Parrots, (private collection, Paris), painted in 1866, he used a model whose genitalia were visible to the viewer. He was commissioned to paint this piece by a wealthy Turkish ambassador to Saint Petersburg, Halil Serif Pasha (Khalil Bey), who had a passion for erotica.
The painting was exhibited at the Salon of 1866, and it was immediately rejected by the critics. They argued that the painting was pornographic and lacked any taste.
While the picture is now considered scandalous, it is a fascinating work that combines realism and a modernist ethos. The canvas was designed in shades of green, and the two women are positioned to direct the spectator’s gaze.
Similar to Goya’s Nude Maja, the pubic area is placed in the center of the painting and partially covered, but it is still readable by the spectator. It is also framed in an extravagant frame, which emphasises the voyeuristic separation of the model from her sexy genitalia.
Another artist who challenges the representation of a female nude is Rebecca di Robertis, who created performance pieces that reenact and reclaim the vagina in her work Mirror of Origin. She was subsequently arrested for this, but she was performing in front of the original painting, which would have escaped censorship on Instagram, a platform that has removed all forms of genitalia from its feeds.
Egon Schiele
During his life, Egon Schiele created an extensive body of works on paper and canvas that are famous today. His paintings rely heavily on distortion and jagged curves of structure in order to convey his personal experiences and emotions. These distortions are used to destabilize and replace standard ideals of beauty in the painting genre.
As a result, his artworks are highly controversial. Some of them are considered pornographic and disturbing to viewers. Some of his artworks are exhibited in museums and galleries around the world, while others are sold for private collections.
In the early years of his career, Egon Schiele made a name for himself by depicting naked females in highly sensual poses. He did this by changing the contours of the body just enough to create a sensation of pain and discomfort for his audience.
One of the most iconic examples of this is his painting, Female Nude Lying on Her Stomach (1917), which has since been moved to the Albertina museum in Vienna. This painting is a must-see for art lovers and can be viewed online as well.
Another famous example of his works is Self-Portrait with Chinese Lantern Plant (1912). This painting depicts Schiele in a very revealing and erotic way that is unheard of during the time period.
Although it may not look like much, this painting is very powerful and beautiful. The painter used many elements to create this masterpiece, including lines and a unique color palette.
In addition, the artist used different angles to depict his subject. He positioned the subject in a twisting pose that was influenced by modern dance. This was a bold move that would lead to the artist becoming famous.
The painter also emphasized the emaciated nature of his subject by depicting her in an uncomfortable position. This is a major theme in his work and one that is present in every piece.
Schiele is known for his revealing and disturbing depictions of himself as well as others. His artworks are a must-see for anyone who wants to learn more about this famous and influential artist.
Rembrandt van Rijn
Rembrandt van Rijn, the Dutch Golden Age painter and printmaker, made a number of etchings based on naked female models. These etchings reflect the artist’s early and late interest in nudes.
In the 1640s and early 1650s, artists in Amsterdam broke with convention by commissioning sex workers to pose nudes. The artists would then sketch these models in the privacy of their studios.
These sketches were also an integral part of the education of the more advanced pupils in the studio. These life drawing sessions were a key part of Rembrandt’s teaching practice.
Although most artists preferred the more aesthetically pleasing ways of rendering female nudes, Rembrandt’s naturalistic style remained the standard for his pupils and contemporaries alike.
While the female nude was not a new theme for Rembrandt, his interest in this subject grew significantly in the last decade of his career. He created some six etchings of naked or partially dressed women, most famously Woman with an Arrow (c. 1658 CE).
The woman in this etching is reclining on a large couch and is half-obscured by a dark shadow. Her hat is partially visible in the upper left corner of the image.
This etching has been interpreted as depicting a woman suffering from breast pathology; the discoloration of her left breast and peau d’orange suggests a diagnosis of tuberculosis or breast cancer. This is supported by the fact that the model was a servant of the artist, Hendrickje Stoffels.
Another interpretation of this etching is that it is a scene in a hospital, as evidenced by the ample stove and a bed covered in linens. This idea has been bolstered by the presence of a cord that may have been held by the model to relieve her discomfort in her sitting position.
Like other late nudes, this etching resists easy classification into either life studies or representations of historical subjects. This ambiguity has led to various identifications, such as Venus disarming Cupid or Candaulos and Cyges.