Human body
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Le spectre
Laurent Anastay-Ponsolle
Fine Art Drawings - 42 x 29.5 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 16.5 x 11.6 x 0 inch
£446
Déesse de Paris
Valentin Savtcheko
Painting - 65 x 81 x 2 cm Painting - 25.6 x 31.9 x 0.8 inch
£1,965
N° 633 L'impudique 1
R. Cavalié
Fine Art Drawings - 38 x 47 x 0.2 cm Fine Art Drawings - 15 x 18.5 x 0.1 inch
£179
N° 615 D'abord, la douceur.
R. Cavalié
Fine Art Drawings - 65 x 48 x 0.2 cm Fine Art Drawings - 25.6 x 18.9 x 0.1 inch
£197
N° 614 ange bleu
R. Cavalié
Fine Art Drawings - 65 x 47 x 0.2 cm Fine Art Drawings - 25.6 x 18.5 x 0.1 inch
£179
N° 817 Dans le divan rouge.
R. Cavalié
Fine Art Drawings - 46 x 36 x 0.2 cm Fine Art Drawings - 18.1 x 14.2 x 0.1 inch
£161
Eros und Thanatos
William Mountgoaten
Painting - 160 x 120 x 2.5 cm Painting - 63 x 47.2 x 1 inch
£4,734
Eros und Thanatos
William Mountgoaten
Painting - 180 x 220 x 5 cm Painting - 70.9 x 86.6 x 2 inch
£8,307
Eros und Thanatos
William Mountgoaten
Painting - 160 x 100 x 2.5 cm Painting - 63 x 39.4 x 1 inch
£5,359
Eros und Thanatos
William Mountgoaten
Painting - 120 x 160 x 2.5 cm Painting - 47.2 x 63 x 1 inch
£6,253
Leonardo trifft Egon
William Mountgoaten
Painting - 160 x 120 x 2.5 cm Painting - 63 x 47.2 x 1 inch
£5,806
Eros und Thanatos
William Mountgoaten
Painting - 200 x 240 x 5 cm Painting - 78.7 x 94.5 x 2 inch
£9,825
Ohne Titel
William Mountgoaten
Sculpture - 70 x 180 x 40 cm Sculpture - 27.6 x 70.9 x 15.7 inch
£7,592
Eros und Thanatos
William Mountgoaten
Painting - 180 x 220 x 5 cm Painting - 70.9 x 86.6 x 2 inch
£8,039
Le Boudoir de Lolita
Kristina Malashchenko
Painting - 100 x 70 x 1 cm Painting - 39.4 x 27.6 x 0.4 inch
£4,823
L'attente 180
Daniel Perreu
Sculpture - 174.5 x 24.7 x 2 cm Sculpture - 68.7 x 9.7 x 0.8 inch
£3,403
Small relief in bronze
Ohad Ben-Ayala
Sculpture - 15 x 14 x 5 cm Sculpture - 5.9 x 5.5 x 2 inch
£339
Small relief in bronze
Ohad Ben-Ayala
Sculpture - 13 x 12 x 4 cm Sculpture - 5.1 x 4.7 x 1.6 inch
£214
N° 755 Etude VII
R. Cavalié
Fine Art Drawings - 39 x 60 x 0.2 cm Fine Art Drawings - 15.4 x 23.6 x 0.1 inch
£205
N° 736 Etude VI. Dyptique.
R. Cavalié
Fine Art Drawings - 65 x 50 x 0.2 cm Fine Art Drawings - 25.6 x 19.7 x 0.1 inch
£179
N° 706 Nymphette 2.
R. Cavalié
Fine Art Drawings - 38 x 44 x 0.2 cm Fine Art Drawings - 15 x 17.3 x 0.1 inch
£161
Voltagabbana
Tiziano Sculpteur
Sculpture - 72 x 35 x 26 cm Sculpture - 28.3 x 13.8 x 10.2 inch
£4,287
Female nude: EVENING WALK AT THE BEACH
Oswin Gesselli
Painting - 120 x 80 x 4 cm Painting - 47.2 x 31.5 x 1.6 inch
£5,145
La galerie d’Alexandre Moore Rockefeller à Londres
Alexandre Moore Rockefeller
Painting - 89 x 116 x 0.6 cm Painting - 35 x 45.7 x 0.2 inch
£4,555
Eros und Thanatos
William Mountgoaten
Painting - 150 x 120 x 5 cm Painting - 59.1 x 47.2 x 2 inch
£5,806
Eros und Thanatos
William Mountgoaten
Sculpture - 120 x 120 x 60 cm Sculpture - 47.2 x 47.2 x 23.6 inch
£4,913
Eros und Thanatos
William Mountgoaten
Sculpture - 190 x 70 x 60 cm Sculpture - 74.8 x 27.6 x 23.6 inch
£7,146
Small relief in bronze
Ohad Ben-Ayala
Sculpture - 13 x 12 x 4 cm Sculpture - 5.1 x 4.7 x 1.6 inch
£214
Divas de Jazz
Kristina Malashchenko
Painting - 30 x 90 x 3 cm Painting - 11.8 x 35.4 x 1.2 inch
£2,233
N° 631 Baïkal découvrant la non-zone
R. Cavalié
Fine Art Drawings - 24 x 42 x 0.2 cm Fine Art Drawings - 9.4 x 16.5 x 0.1 inch
£197
N° 624 Monette
R. Cavalié
Fine Art Drawings - 50 x 35 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 19.7 x 13.8 x 0 inch
£197
N° 612 Mon petit doigt m'a dit
R. Cavalié
Fine Art Drawings - 50 x 65 x 0.3 cm Fine Art Drawings - 19.7 x 25.6 x 0.1 inch
£196
N° 711 Aubergine
R. Cavalié
Fine Art Drawings - 25 x 70 x 0.2 cm Fine Art Drawings - 9.8 x 27.6 x 0.1 inch
£161
N° 826 Pierrot lunaire au féminin.
R. Cavalié
Fine Art Drawings - 65 x 39 x 0.2 cm Fine Art Drawings - 25.6 x 15.4 x 0.1 inch
£205
N° 805 Inapte 1.
R. Cavalié
Fine Art Drawings - 61 x 38 x 0.2 cm Fine Art Drawings - 24 x 15 x 0.1 inch
£205
Polka dot panties
Kristina Malashchenko
Painting - 70 x 50 x 1 cm Painting - 27.6 x 19.7 x 0.4 inch
£2,501
N° 1134 Covid 19 (7) La rage 2.
R. Cavalié
Painting - 50 x 50 x 2 cm Painting - 19.7 x 19.7 x 0.8 inch
£357
Les espionnes
Michèle Chast
Sculpture - 35 x 22.5 x 13.5 cm Sculpture - 13.8 x 8.9 x 5.3 inch
£3,126
Working cycles - Trance
Vlada Hauser
Painting - 100 x 300 x 3.5 cm Painting - 39.4 x 118.1 x 1.4 inch
£9,577
Souplesse 150
Daniel Perreu
Sculpture - 155.5 x 73 x 4.4 cm Sculpture - 61.2 x 28.7 x 1.7 inch
£5,618
Eros und Thanatos
William Mountgoaten
Painting - 200 x 200 x 5 cm Painting - 78.7 x 78.7 x 2 inch
£8,039
Donna en Marbre de Carrare
Tiziano Sculpteur
Sculpture - 43 x 20 x 16 cm Sculpture - 16.9 x 7.9 x 6.3 inch
£5,091
Vela en Marbre
Tiziano Sculpteur
Sculpture - 44 x 26 x 18 cm Sculpture - 17.3 x 10.2 x 7.1 inch
£5,806
Elle La Sirène
Didier Cormillot
Photography - 60 x 40 x 0.2 cm Photography - 23.6 x 15.7 x 0.1 inch
£241
Femme allongée
Michèle Chast
Sculpture - 18.5 x 36 x 18 cm Sculpture - 7.3 x 14.2 x 7.1 inch
£12,505
Elle The wall /
Didier Cormillot
Photography - 80 x 60 x 0.5 cm Photography - 31.5 x 23.6 x 0.2 inch
£241
ELLE L'horizon /
Didier Cormillot
Photography - 40 x 60 x 0.5 cm Photography - 15.7 x 23.6 x 0.2 inch
£241
Elle Couvrez ce sein, que je ne saurais voir /
Didier Cormillot
Photography - 40 x 60 x 0.5 cm Photography - 15.7 x 23.6 x 0.2 inch
£241
SHE and the setting sun /
Didier Cormillot
Photography - 40 x 60 x 0.5 cm Photography - 15.7 x 23.6 x 0.2 inch
£241
Elle « Punition au soleil couchant »
Didier Cormillot
Photography - 60 x 40 x 0.2 cm Photography - 23.6 x 15.7 x 0.1 inch
£241
Elle et l'été /
Didier Cormillot
Photography - 40 x 60 x 0.2 cm Photography - 15.7 x 23.6 x 0.1 inch
£205
ELLE Juste un regard /
Didier Cormillot
Photography - 60 x 40 x 0.2 cm Photography - 23.6 x 15.7 x 0.1 inch
£205
My first nudes 1978 N°5 /
Didier Cormillot
Photography - 60 x 40 x 0.2 cm Photography - 23.6 x 15.7 x 0.1 inch
£205
Elle Son corps dévoilé /
Didier Cormillot
Photography - 40 x 60 x 0.5 cm Photography - 15.7 x 23.6 x 0.2 inch
£205
Marie au Château 1
Didier Cormillot
Photography - 60 x 42 x 0.2 cm Photography - 23.6 x 16.5 x 0.1 inch
£205
Elle Classic pose
Didier Cormillot
Photography - 60 x 40 x 0.5 cm Photography - 23.6 x 15.7 x 0.2 inch
£205
My first nudes 1978 N°4 /
Didier Cormillot
Photography - 42 x 60 x 0.2 cm Photography - 16.5 x 23.6 x 0.1 inch
£205
Human body
'I wanted to conquer the world. But I also desperately wanted to understand human nature, and to know what was inside our bodies. To do this, I have spent whole night dissecting bodies, against the direct orders of the Pope. Nothing disgusts me. What I am looking for, truly, in all of my work and particularly in my painting, what I have looked for all my life, is to understand the mystery that is human nature' – from the notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci in the 16th century.
At the time of writing these notes, da Vinci had already made greater understanding of the human body the primary objective of his investigations. Dissection and study were key to his development of a holistic knowledge of anatomy, which da Vinci believed was vital to the perfect rendering of the nude figures which he painted and drew.
Little by little, the traditional image of the human figure was uprooted and in its place new ways of interpreting the body developed. Contemporary artists relentlessly questioned the traditional codes of figure drawing, liberally reworking the representation of the body to create a new image that was dislocated, geometric, deformed and disfigured.
The body as an artistic subject is at once desired, fantasised, dreamt, transformed, deformed. For painters, photographers and sculptors alike the body represents a rite of passage in their artistic development. Many people say that they most appreciate the talents of an artists by way of their control over the complexity of the figure. For example, it's clear even in Matisse's later, more abstract collages that he had perfectly mastered the human form.
Representation of the body is fundamental to Western art: first and foremost because it suggests a representation of the self, and therefore affirms the artist's own existence and coexistence with the environment that surrounds them. At the beginning of art history, the only bodies represented were the gods, supernatural beings, and spirits who had taken on human form. The body, nude or clothed, is at once one of the most widely depicted and most deeply polemical subjects in Western art (think of the scandals provoked by Courbet's 'Origins of the World', or Renoir's 'Picnic on the Grass').
The body has always been the primary subject of an array of themes, and its history is rich and ancient. Initially, depiction of the body was closely linked to religion, where the Word became flesh in Genesis, but later in more secular times the arousal of the artist when faced with the body made for an equally popular theme. Latterly the notion of the body as an object of beauty was subverted by Cubism until depictions of bodies no longer bore any resemblance to reality or made any pretence of respecting the rules of proportion.
Finally, in modern art the body has taken on an abstract shape within space, becoming one with the environment. In some instances, the body has become the artist's own support, as with Klein's models. The body as an abstract concept is tangible in many different manifestations in art, even in pieces as unassuming as some of Rothko's paintings. It remains the subject of inexhaustible inspiration and eternal debate.