In 2019 I was fortunate to be able to view the Royal Academy (London) exhibition of the Renaissance Nude which brought together pieces of art to trace the development of the nude through some of the great masters:
- Titian
- Raphael
- Michelangelo
- Leonardo
- Durer
- Cranach
The exhibition was a triumph; not because you got a chance to view nudes, but because it was an opportunity to compare the development of the concept of the nude through a period of history which for many is seen as the development of Art!
The range of styles and of brilliance was staggering, and I came away from the exhibition looking for more insights into techniques, and into the hsitory of the various artists.
“Kenneth Clark declared that if nude bodies don’t provoke erotic pleasure in the viewer, they have failed as art. “
There are an amazing number of items on YouTube and on the net which discuss nudes, indeed the explosion of the internet has been built around the provision of all elements of nudes as porn – something that our current government would like to regulate against – to use an old phrase, ‘fat chance’, the genii is out of the bottle now!
This is a travelling exhibition, having made its way across the Atlantic from the Getty Museum, it does as the Evening Standard alludes to have some problems in terms following the linear historical route, and in all probability some pieces should have been included in the exhibition. The Renaissance Nude was a wonderful production, and I urge you to see it if you are in a city where it is on show.