The first time I entered an art studio as a child, the first thing that caught my eye was a full-body plaster cast of David. When I realized that this statue was nude, I reflexively covered my eyes. The art teacher gently but firmly said, “This is art. It’s beautiful. Don’t be embarrassed.” I am grateful for those words, as they initiated my understanding of “beauty.”
Humans have always revered the beauty of the human form, giving rise to the art of the nude. Nude studies were born out of the need to explore and understand this beauty. Western art features a vast array of works showcasing the nude form, from religious myths to secular scenes, with subjects confidently baring their bodies. The journey from shame and concealment to recognition and appreciation has led to the universal acceptance of the human form’s beauty in modern times, making it a significant subject in Western art history. The prevalence of nudity in Western sculpture and painting has historical and societal roots that are unique and irreplaceable.
The Beauty of the Human Form
The entire history of Western art, starting from ancient Greece, set the tone with realism. From the beginning, Western art has unabashedly favored nudity. Artists have shared a timeless consensus that “using the human body to present beauty” is fundamental.
Ancient Greeks believed in the dignity of the body—powerful breathing chests, muscular torsos, and legs that helped the body leap. These elements were the sources of their creativity. Although ancient Greek paintings have not survived, the unearthed sculptures reveal the incredible artistic achievements of these early people by the Aegean Sea. The Romans revered Greek art to such an extent that they replicated almost all Greek sculptures. This fervent imitation attests to the advanced aesthetics of the ancient Greeks.
The ancient Greeks’ reverence for the beauty of the human form was unique. Unlike the ancient Indians and Egyptians, who were immersed in grand religious concepts, or the Assyrians and Persians, who focused on massive societal organizations, or the Phoenicians and Carthaginians, who ran large-scale commerce, the Greeks did not adopt theocratic rule or a hierarchical system, nor did they establish large institutions for commerce and trade. The city-state system gave Greek citizens substantial autonomy. Politics and war were every citizen’s responsibility, with each city-state striving to dominate and exploit others. To cultivate citizens suited for this system, Greek education emphasized physical fitness to an extreme. Babies with physical defects were eliminated, and the optimal conditions for procreation were encouraged. For instance, older men with young wives were expected to bring a young man into the home, and middle-aged men could lend their wives to admired friends to produce healthy offspring.
Young Greeks, both male and female, underwent rigorous military training in every city-state. They spent significant time engaging in wrestling, jumping, boxing, running, and discus throwing, developing strong, agile, and beautiful bodies. This unique Greek culture led to unique reflections: the ideal person was not one with a thoughtful mind or a sensitive heart, but one with good lineage, a well-developed and proportionate body, and a mastery of various physical activities.
Surrounding cultures viewed nudity with shame, but Greeks, through widespread physical training, eradicated this shame. They proudly participated in nude combat and competitions. Events like the Olympics were occasions to showcase exquisite bodies, elevating the worship of the human form to new heights. Winners gained not only supreme honor but were also revered for their physical prowess. This cultural acceptance made the Greeks unafraid to display their bodies in sacred ceremonies and before gods.
The origin of human nude art is, in fact, an extreme reverence and pursuit of bodily beauty. The ancient Greeks likely did not anticipate that their advanced aesthetic concepts would profoundly influence the entire history of Western art.
Divinity and Humanity
Neither artists nor their works exist in isolation. The social, cultural, and temporal contexts during the creation process significantly shape the artist and their work.
In “The Iliad,” gods possess bodies vulnerable to weapons, similar to humans, and they share human instincts and desires. Gods can also have children with humans, making the divine and mortal realms not entirely separate. Given that gods possess more serene and perfect bodies than humans, it is understandable why Greeks strove to use beautiful human forms to depict them.
However, with the fall of the Western Roman Empire, Europe plunged into the Dark Ages and experienced a rupture in art history. Medieval art belonged to Christian art. Early Christians believed that representing God with idols would mislead believers. The 7th century Byzantine Iconoclasm movement sought to destroy religious icons. In the late 6th century, Pope Gregory the Great observed that “what writing does for the literate, a picture does for the illiterate.” Consequently, the realism in ancient Greek and Roman art disappeared, and art began to serve religious purposes. It minimized the humanity and emotion of the body, remained skeptical of sensual and corporeal beauty, and prioritized spiritual justice, advocating for abstinence and static symbolism [2].
It wasn’t until the Renaissance that the reverence for bodily beauty regained its crucial position in art. Artists began to replicate the ancient Greek depiction of nudity.
During this period, the concepts of beauty varied widely, ranging from thin to obese, tender to withered, and from weak to robust. Regardless of the conveyed message, whether Puritanical or politically/religiously charged, nudity could be considered either indecent or sacred. Jesus’ nakedness humanized him, but in Renaissance art, it was also deified, akin to Apollo, and vice versa [3].
Common explanations suggest that nudity is acceptable for Jesus to show his stigmata or for Adam and Eve before their fall into shame. Thus, female nudity in religious paintings was rare. While this argument seems logical, a deeper understanding of Western art history reveals that the Renaissance produced many female nudes, even in biblical narratives. The primary motivator was economic: artists, commissioned by the wealthy, found ways to depict female nudity under accepted themes. For example, Botticelli’s “The Birth of Venus,” commissioned by Giuliano de’ Medici and modeled after his late lover Simonetta Vespucci [4]. Venus became a favored subject, allowing artists to paint nudes under her guise.
Let’s briefly discuss two of the Renaissance masters: Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci. Their expertise in human anatomy was so profound that they could draw accurately even without models. If you read “Leonardo’s Notebooks,” you would understand my frequent assertion that “he truly understood the beauty of the human body.”
Michelangelo’s figures are renowned for their muscularity. It is said that due to his sexual orientation, even when painting female nudes, he used male models, resulting in women that seemed to have male bodies with awkwardly attached breasts.
We won’t delve further into the achievements of Renaissance art here. This period is an unparalleled chapter in art history. In the original manuscript, there are over a thousand words detailing the stories of nude paintings and sculptures from the Renaissance to modern times. To avoid excessive length, this is a stopping point. If there’s an opportunity, I will elaborate in a separate piece.
Why We Love Nudes
Believe me, it’s not just because of a lascivious interest.
The human body, with its strong recognizability and capacity to convey emotions, serves as a convenient symbol in visual arts. Not only in classical art but also in modern times, it remains a central icon of artistic expression [5].
Western classical art values imitation, or realism. Precisely depicting the human body is a way to express the human inner world.
According to Kant’s theory, appreciating nude beauty is an emotional judgment that involves subjective factors but seeks universal agreement. This means our love for nudity is not merely a personal preference but aligns with universal values [6].
So, let’s embrace and celebrate the beauty of nudity openly.
References:
[1]. Taine, H. “Philosophy of Art.” [French]
[2]. https://www.jianshu.com/p/e3a8d779fcff
[3]. http://art.china.cn/zixun/2019-03/25/content_40693070.htm
[4]. https://baike.sogou.com/v67616101.htm?fromTitle=%E7%BB%B4%E7%BA%B3%E6%96%AF%E7%9A%84%E8%AF%9E%E7%94%9F
[5]. https://www.zhihu.com/question/328055658/answer/706582077?hb_wx_block=0
[6]. Imado, T. “Philosophical Thoughts on Love and Beauty.” [Japanese]
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