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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.

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Painting, Cercle, Eden

Cercle

Eden

Painting - 100 x 80 x 0.3 cm Painting - 39.4 x 31.5 x 0.1 inch

$4,389

Painting, Sérénité, Eden

Sérénité

Eden

Painting - 100 x 80 x 0.3 cm Painting - 39.4 x 31.5 x 0.1 inch

$4,496

Painting, Nabila, Anika Manuel

Nabila

Anika Manuel

Painting - 30 x 23 x 2 cm Painting - 11.8 x 9.1 x 0.8 inch

$558

Painting, L'Ours, Jean-Marc Teillon

L'Ours

Jean-Marc Teillon

Painting - 114 x 162 x 3 cm Painting - 44.9 x 63.8 x 1.2 inch

$7,118

Fine Art Drawings, Permesi, Imam Sucahyo

Permesi

Imam Sucahyo

Fine Art Drawings - 19.8 x 24.9 cm Fine Art Drawings - 7.8 x 9.8 inch

$593

Painting, Free breath, Elvira Venko

Free breath

Elvira Venko

Painting - 50 x 50 x 0.3 cm Painting - 19.7 x 19.7 x 0.1 inch

$500

Fine Art Drawings, Encensé 1, Catherine Carrée

Encensé 1

Catherine Carrée

Fine Art Drawings - 43 x 60 x 0.2 cm Fine Art Drawings - 16.9 x 23.6 x 0.1 inch

$1,186

Painting, Ballet-5, Anand Manchiraju

Ballet-5

Anand Manchiraju

Painting - 54.6 x 69.9 x 0.3 cm Painting - 21.5 x 27.5 x 0.1 inch

$2,500

Sculpture, Maty, Véronique Clanet

Maty

Véronique Clanet

Sculpture - 57 x 28 x 20 cm Sculpture - 22.4 x 11 x 7.9 inch

$5,898

Print, Counterfeit, Imbue

Counterfeit

Imbue

Print - 8 x 15 x 1 cm Print - 3.1 x 5.9 x 0.4 inch

$297

Photography, Occult Games #2, Léa Bon

Occult Games #2

Léa Bon

Photography - 75 x 50 x 0.3 cm Photography - 29.53 x 19.68 x 0.1 inch

$2,500

Painting, Pamela, Inna Sych

Pamela

Inna Sych

Painting - 100 x 80 x 2 cm Painting - 39.4 x 31.5 x 0.8 inch

$4,152

Photography, Underground, Akif Hakan

Underground

Akif Hakan

Photography - 60 x 90 x 0.1 cm Photography - 23.6 x 35.4 x 0 inch

$652

Photography, Happy Lovers, Akif Hakan

Happy Lovers

Akif Hakan

Photography - 60 x 90 x 0.1 cm Photography - 23.6 x 35.4 x 0 inch

$652

Painting, Monaco, Vincent Carpentier

Monaco

Vincent Carpentier

Painting - 100 x 100 x 1.5 cm Painting - 39.4 x 39.4 x 0.6 inch

$2,254

Painting, Sekel, Century, Max Book

Sekel, Century

Max Book

Painting - 23 x 31 x 2 cm Painting - 9.1 x 12.2 x 0.8 inch

$2,966

Painting, Ballet-4, Anand Manchiraju

Ballet-4

Anand Manchiraju

Painting - 54.6 x 69.9 x 0.3 cm Painting - 21.5 x 27.5 x 0.1 inch

$2,500

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