The Nude in Art: Some Opposing Categories

George P. Landow, Professor of English and the History of Art, Brown University

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When considering the nude in the history of Western art, one encounters various paired categories, some of which are closely related to or derivative of others:

Formal Considerations

• Fully unclothed vs. Filmy transparent garments
• Standing vs. Seated, kneeling, or reclining
• Static vs. Kinetic
• Single vs. Multiple figures
• Two-dimensional (painting, drawing) vs. Three-dimensional (sculpture)
• Front vs. Back

Matters of Gender, Religion, and Ideology

• Naked vs. Nude
• Male (Apollo, Christ, Sebastian) vs. Female (Venus, Susannah, Andromeda)
• Celestial (Crystalline) vs. Vulgar (or Natural, Earthy, Vegetable) Apphrodite
• Abstract force of generation (life force) or individuated sexuality
• Northern vs Southern (Classical, Mediterranean) ideal nudes
• Empowered (Venus, Perseus) vs. Victim (Marsyas, Andromeda)
• Mythological (Niobe, Marsyas, Andromeda) Victims vs Biblical Ones (Samson, Christ, martyred saints)
• Mythological (Venus, Apollo) vs. Allegorical (Victory, Sorrow)

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Last modified 16 February 2007