These are some of the most inviting and enigmatic works of art that have survived the passage of time.
“Man is the sole animal whose nudity offends his own companions, and the only one who, in his natural actions, withdraws and hides himself from his own kind,” so said by Montaigne, who is widely considered as the father of the essay. He was right in many situations, but there are still remote cultures in the world whose nudity of their women is just normal. On other hand and not on the ground of the artist's creative freedom, some of their masterpieces that boldly show beautiful women in their nudity can be completely inoffensive, by virtue of their various symbolic meanings and messages. Famous examples of which are listed below.
This masterpiece of one of the greatest Dutch painters, Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn is a portrayal of a Bible passage told in 2 Samuel 11. The story tells about David's seduction of Batsheba that all started when David was walking one day on the roof of his house and saw Batsheba, who was then married to a man named Uriah, taking a bath. He desired her and eventually committed adultery with her. Batsheba, later conceived and after many aborted attempts of David to cover up his sin, he finally married Batsheba after Uriah died in battle.
Bather is the only, yet famous work of the French sculptor, Christophe-Gabriel Allegrain. When this masterpiece in marble was exhibited for the first time at the famous Salon in 1767, it received wide acclaim. It was later commissioned to many royal families in France and King Louis XV in 1772 presented it to Madame du Barry for her famed pavilion that introduced the new Neoclassicism, usually associated with the famous and powerful “Louis'” of France.
Grande Odalisque is a painting in oil by the renowned French painter, Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres. It depicts an odalisque or concubine. For its general appearance, it has been widely noted for its elongated proportions and lack of realism as shown by the elongated limbs, small head, and color scheme, pointing to a new a style known as exotic romanticism.
Contemporaries of Ingres received the painting with harsh criticism, branding its creator a rebel against the contemporary style when it was first shown in 1914. Ingres suffered such adverse criticism until 1920 when this painting which was commissioned by Queen Caroline Murat of Naples finally received acclamations within the artist's community.
Marie-Louise O'Murphy de Boisfaily was one of the young mistresses of King Louis XV of France. At the age of 14, she posed for this memorable and provocative portrait by the French artist, François Boucher. This piece is said to have been a part of the campaign to gain the attention of the King. She indeed became one of the King's mistresses for around two years until her downfall when she had taken herself remiss by trying to unseat the official mistress. Her royal connections resulted to her imprisonment following the French revolution, but survived such enormous political turmoil in France and died at the age of 77 in 1814.
La Tempesta (The Tempest) is one of the famous paintings in the Renaissance, by the Italian great artist, Giorgione. The nude woman breastfeeding a baby, the river, trees and ruins in a serene countryside landscape appeared to many viewers quizzical. The presence of a man nearby, even more added to the puzzle. They simply cannot completely discern what the artist was really trying to convey. Some of them believed, the act of lactation of the baby suggests fertility while many commentators suggested chastity, thus having this piece a reminder of the Virgin Mary.
When observe laterally, these pieces might appear to many of us particularly to women an utter affront to whatever values and virtues we hold in life. But the human body especially that of a woman suggests many symbolic meanings apart from having it associated to something sensual. The very sight of the human body, the way it appeared at the Garden of Eden is a sight of divinity and of beauty that is beyond what our limited minds can grasp. However, art as a part of life cannot really be free from controversialists' attacks such as the following…
