Let it All Hang Out

A great article in the Guardian on the Male Nude:

“Today, probably nothing so alienates us from the high art of the European past as its most prestigious subject – the male nude. Visit any old European museum, from Naples to Bloomsbury, and they have more marble statues of disrobed gods and heroes than they can reasonably display. Once these nudes were considered the apex of European culture. Today we don’t really know what to do with them, and the reason for this was anticipated when parliament presented Canova’s Napoleon to the Duke of Wellington as a ludicrous example of imperial art. Let’s face it: the male nude is embarrassing.”

This article touches on many of my favorite issues. The nude in art, the future of the nude in art as well as sexuality and gender. While people are more relaxed than ever with body modesty, the nude is less appreciated than ever before. I find this fascinating as we are all intrigued by the body – as a sexual being, a host for our souls, a fantastic piece of engineering – however you see it the human body is eternally interesting. there are so many avenues for discovery and appreciation. I could go on forever, there is a reason I paint nudes!

I think, love it or hate it the nude is hear forever – the fact that people can feel so strongly one way or the other makes it an excellent subject for art.