![Painting, A Perfec Lie, Sancko](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/444183_1_grid.jpg)
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![Painting, A Perfec Lie, Sancko](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/444183_1_grid.jpg)
![Sculpture, Lectrice dans ses pensées, Carl Jaunay](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2151480_1_grid.jpg)
Lectrice dans ses pensées
Carl Jaunay
Sculpture - 35 x 28 x 33 cm Sculpture - 13.8 x 11 x 13 inch
€3,590
![Sculpture, Lectrice main sur genoux série 35, Carl Jaunay](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2151448_1_grid.jpg)
Lectrice main sur genoux série 35
Carl Jaunay
Sculpture - 33 x 23 x 35 cm Sculpture - 13 x 9.1 x 13.8 inch
€3,590
![Painting, Portrait féminin, Charlie Feraud](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2120886_1_grid.jpg)
![Painting, Portrait in the studio, Agnieszka Staak-Janczarska](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2005593_1_grid.jpg)
Portrait in the studio
Agnieszka Staak-Janczarska
Painting - 76 x 70 x 4 cm Painting - 29.9 x 27.6 x 1.6 inch
€1,900
![Photography, Jonathan, Larry Clark](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/1974342_1_grid.jpg)
![Sculpture, Untitled 24 (2/6), Boshra Mustafa](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/1709010_1_grid.jpg)
![Sculpture, Untitled 18 (1/6), Boshra Mustafa](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/1708821_1_grid.jpg)
![Photography, Détail de dos I, Iconographia](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/1515555_1_grid.jpg)
![Painting, La ronde des masques, Franck-Bernard Gaulier](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/1398936_1_grid.jpg)
La ronde des masques
Franck-Bernard Gaulier
Painting - 28 x 81 x 0.3 cm Painting - 11 x 31.9 x 0.1 inch
€500
![Sculpture, Corps femme bras en l'air, Sébastien Langloÿs](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/1129287_1_grid.jpg)
Corps femme bras en l'air
Sébastien Langloÿs
Sculpture - 34 x 20 x 20 cm Sculpture - 13.4 x 7.9 x 7.9 inch
€1,900
![Print, Fraulein French Fries, Mel Ramos](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/1108878_1_grid.jpg)
![Fine Art Drawings, 1952 Asian Beauty in Paris, Kam Zin Choon](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/1031292_1_grid.jpg)
1952 Asian Beauty in Paris
Kam Zin Choon
Fine Art Drawings - 60 x 48 x 0.5 cm Fine Art Drawings - 23.6 x 18.9 x 0.2 inch
€1,950
![Fine Art Drawings, 1952 Paris Muse sur un lit, Kam Zin Choon](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/1031283_1_grid.jpg)
1952 Paris Muse sur un lit
Kam Zin Choon
Fine Art Drawings - 46 x 60 x 0.5 cm Fine Art Drawings - 18.1 x 23.6 x 0.2 inch
€1,950
![Fine Art Drawings, 1952 Paris Muse Assise, Kam Zin Choon](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/1031277_1_grid.jpg)
1952 Paris Muse Assise
Kam Zin Choon
Fine Art Drawings - 57 x 45 x 0.5 cm Fine Art Drawings - 22.4 x 17.7 x 0.2 inch
€1,950
![Fine Art Drawings, 1952 Paris Muse debout, Kam Zin Choon](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/1031265_1_grid.jpg)
1952 Paris Muse debout
Kam Zin Choon
Fine Art Drawings - 58 x 45 x 0.5 cm Fine Art Drawings - 22.8 x 17.7 x 0.2 inch
€950
![Fine Art Drawings, 1952 Paris Muse assise Paris Muse sitting, Kam Zin Choon](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/1031235_1_grid.jpg)
1952 Paris Muse assise Paris Muse sitting
Kam Zin Choon
Fine Art Drawings - 58 x 45 cm Fine Art Drawings - 22.8 x 17.7 inch
€950 €570
![Fine Art Drawings, 1952 Paris Muse de dos, Kam Zin Choon](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/1031217_1_grid.jpg)
1952 Paris Muse de dos
Kam Zin Choon
Fine Art Drawings - 68 x 44.5 cm Fine Art Drawings - 26.8 x 17.5 inch
€1,350
![Fine Art Drawings, 1952 Paris Muse Le Lit The Bed, Kam Zin Choon](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/1030782_1_grid.jpg)
1952 Paris Muse Le Lit The Bed
Kam Zin Choon
Fine Art Drawings - 50 x 70 x 0.5 cm Fine Art Drawings - 19.7 x 27.6 x 0.2 inch
€1,950
![Fine Art Drawings, 1952 PARIS MUSE La voluptueuse Voluptuousness, Kam Zin Choon](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/1030773_1_grid.jpg)
1952 PARIS MUSE La voluptueuse Voluptuousness
Kam Zin Choon
Fine Art Drawings - 50 x 70 x 0.5 cm Fine Art Drawings - 19.7 x 27.6 x 0.2 inch
€1,950
![Sculpture, Sage, Nathalie Camoin-Chanet](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/986790_1_grid.jpg)
![Sculpture, Réflexion, Nathalie Camoin-Chanet](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/986781_1_grid.jpg)
Réflexion
Nathalie Camoin-Chanet
Sculpture - 37 x 14 x 10 cm Sculpture - 14.6 x 5.5 x 3.9 inch
€4,200
![Sculpture, Reflet, Nathalie Camoin-Chanet](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/986661_1_grid.jpg)
![Photography, Play of light, Lesya Rozova](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/931251_1_grid.jpg)
Play of light
Lesya Rozova
Photography - 120 x 80 x 0.01 cm Photography - 47.2 x 31.5 x 0 inch
€1,200
![Photography, Marks, Mik Mød](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/882477_1_grid.jpg)
![Painting, God Is Woman, Nolwenn Samson](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/712785_1_grid.jpg)
![Painting, Nude Future, Andrea Vandoni](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/530513_1_grid.jpg)
![Photography, De la série : La beauté des femmes - Siesta, Matthias Leupold](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/462736_1_grid.jpg)
De la série : La beauté des femmes - Siesta
Matthias Leupold
Photography - 15 x 23 cm Photography - 5.9 x 9.1 inch
€1,200
![Photography, De la série : La beauté des femmes - Dido, Matthias Leupold](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/462733_1_grid.jpg)
De la série : La beauté des femmes - Dido
Matthias Leupold
Photography - 18 x 24 cm Photography - 7.1 x 9.4 inch
€1,200
![Painting, Intimité III, Pierre Sojo](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2179300_1_grid.jpg)
![Painting, Nu brun à l'oiseau / diptyque, Stephanie Larène](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2171500_1_grid.jpg)
Nu brun à l'oiseau / diptyque
Stephanie Larène
Painting - 100 x 140 x 1 cm Painting - 39.4 x 55.1 x 0.4 inch
€1,200
![Painting, Edwin, Celso Castro](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2159915_1_grid.jpg)
![Sculpture, Pour Moi, Alain Mandon](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2156715_1_grid.jpg)
![Painting, Le jardin, Jean-Paul Bocaj](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2150163_1_grid.jpg)
![Painting, Mujer desnuda, O'Farrell](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2147464_1_grid.jpg)
![Painting, Tarifa y el mar, Paco Muñoz Santana](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2141510_1_grid.jpg)
Tarifa y el mar
Paco Muñoz Santana
Painting - 100 x 130 x 3.3 cm Painting - 39.4 x 51.2 x 1.3 inch
€1,400
![Painting, I still don't know how to love, Joann Côté](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2137717_1_grid.jpg)
I still don't know how to love
Joann Côté
Painting - 106.7 x 134.6 x 5.1 cm Painting - 42 x 53 x 2 inch
€3,444
![Painting, White tree, Jacek Cyganek](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2129230_1_grid.jpg)
![Painting, Women with a twig, Jacek Cyganek](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2129227_1_grid.jpg)
![Photography, Backpacker II, Arkadiy Kurta](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2124504_1_grid.jpg)
![Photography, Mauricio Bodegon diptych. From los vendedores series, Celso Castro](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2085711_1_grid.jpg)
Mauricio Bodegon diptych. From los vendedores series
Celso Castro
Photography - 68.6 x 101.6 x 0.3 cm Photography - 27 x 40 x 0.1 inch
€1,940
![Photography, Andrés diptych. From identidad series, Celso Castro](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2085639_1_grid.jpg)
Andrés diptych. From identidad series
Celso Castro
Photography - 68.6 x 101.6 x 0.3 cm Photography - 27 x 40 x 0.1 inch
€1,940
![Painting, Harmony, Jean David](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2068140_1_grid.jpg)
![Photography, Fabian diptych. From the pre-Columbian fantasy series, Celso Castro](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2040003_1_grid.jpg)
Fabian diptych. From the pre-Columbian fantasy series
Celso Castro
Photography - 68.6 x 101.6 x 0.3 cm Photography - 27 x 40 x 0.1 inch
€1,940
![Sculpture, Untitled - N°1500, Ilkhan](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/1795533_1_grid.jpg)
![Photography, Donna Cannone, Martí Sala](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/1473864_1_grid.jpg)
![Photography, #11. From La Piedra Sustituta II Series, José Sierra](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/1242903_1_grid.jpg)
#11. From La Piedra Sustituta II Series
José Sierra
Photography - 101.6 x 67.6 x 0.3 cm Photography - 40 x 26.6 x 0.1 inch
€1,940
![Painting, Les Trois Grâces 1987 The Threee Graces, Reza](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/1172241_1_grid.jpg)
Les Trois Grâces 1987 The Threee Graces
Reza
Painting - 49 x 34 cm Painting - 19.3 x 13.4 inch
€1,150
![Painting, Les Trois Grâces 1987 The Three Graces, Reza](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/1172238_1_grid.jpg)
Les Trois Grâces 1987 The Three Graces
Reza
Painting - 49 x 34 cm Painting - 19.3 x 13.4 inch
€1,050 €525
![Painting, Les Nus blancs 1986 The White Nudes, Reza](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/1172235_1_grid.jpg)
Les Nus blancs 1986 The White Nudes
Reza
Painting - 49 x 34 cm Painting - 19.3 x 13.4 inch
€1,050 €525
![Painting, 1986 Femme nue lovée 1986 Yellow Nude, Reza](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/1172226_1_grid.jpg)
1986 Femme nue lovée 1986 Yellow Nude
Reza
Painting - 49 x 34 cm Painting - 19.3 x 13.4 inch
€1,250 €625
![Sculpture, Gold Titan 1985 Sculpture murale, Reza](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/1171419_1_grid.jpg)
Gold Titan 1985 Sculpture murale
Reza
Sculpture - 35 x 18 x 3 cm Sculpture - 13.8 x 7.1 x 1.2 inch
€1,950
![Sculpture, Gold VENUS 1985, Reza](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/1171416_1_grid.jpg)
![Sculpture, Silver Titan argent de dos, Reza](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/1171413_1_grid.jpg)
![Sculpture, Titan argent nu au cube noir Titan Male nude, Reza](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/1171410_1_grid.jpg)
Titan argent nu au cube noir Titan Male nude
Reza
Sculpture - 36 x 15 x 3 cm Sculpture - 14.2 x 5.9 x 1.2 inch
€1,950
![Photography, De la série : La beauté des femmes - On the warpath, Matthias Leupold](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/1169904_1_grid.jpg)
De la série : La beauté des femmes - On the warpath
Matthias Leupold
Photography - 20 x 15 cm Photography - 7.9 x 5.9 inch
€1,200
![Photography, De la série : La beauté des femmes - upwards, Matthias Leupold](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/1169892_1_grid.jpg)
De la série : La beauté des femmes - upwards
Matthias Leupold
Photography - 15 x 20 cm Photography - 5.9 x 7.9 inch
€1,200
![Photography, De la série : La beauté des femmes - coquetry, Matthias Leupold](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/1169883_1_grid.jpg)
De la série : La beauté des femmes - coquetry
Matthias Leupold
Photography - 15 x 20 cm Photography - 5.9 x 7.9 inch
€1,200
![Photography, Fragile Vanity II, Mik Mød](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/988629_1_grid.jpg)
![Fine Art Drawings, Fish (a tribute to Magritte), Rossella Mercedes](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/971424_1_grid.jpg)
Fish (a tribute to Magritte)
Rossella Mercedes
Fine Art Drawings - 29.7 x 42 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 11.7 x 16.5 x 0 inch
€275
![Fine Art Drawings, In my web, Rossella Mercedes](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/869106_1_grid.jpg)
In my web
Rossella Mercedes
Fine Art Drawings - 42 x 29.7 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 16.5 x 11.7 x 0 inch
€300
![Fine Art Drawings, Treno, Rossella Mercedes](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/869103_1_grid.jpg)
Treno
Rossella Mercedes
Fine Art Drawings - 42 x 29.7 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 16.5 x 11.7 x 0 inch
€300
![Fine Art Drawings, Puppet, Rossella Mercedes](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/869097_1_grid.jpg)
Puppet
Rossella Mercedes
Fine Art Drawings - 42 x 29.7 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 16.5 x 11.7 x 0 inch
€300
![Fine Art Drawings, Field of love, Rossella Mercedes](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/511151_1_grid.jpg)
Field of love
Rossella Mercedes
Fine Art Drawings - 29 x 42 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 11.4 x 16.5 x 0 inch
€330
![Painting, You Are My Universe, Tetiana Pchelnykova](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2175683_1_grid.jpg)
You Are My Universe
Tetiana Pchelnykova
Painting - 80 x 80 x 2 cm Painting - 31.5 x 31.5 x 0.8 inch
€1,510
![Painting, Free Steppe: Taurian Sails, Tetiana Pchelnykova](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2174081_1_grid.jpg)
Free Steppe: Taurian Sails
Tetiana Pchelnykova
Painting - 60 x 80 x 2 cm Painting - 23.6 x 31.5 x 0.8 inch
€850
![Painting, Contemplations of the Trypillian Heritage, Tetiana Pchelnykova](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2174080_1_grid.jpg)
Contemplations of the Trypillian Heritage
Tetiana Pchelnykova
Painting - 60 x 80 x 2 cm Painting - 23.6 x 31.5 x 0.8 inch
€850
![Painting, Intertwining Thoughts, Tetiana Pchelnykova](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2174079_1_grid.jpg)
Intertwining Thoughts
Tetiana Pchelnykova
Painting - 70 x 60 x 2 cm Painting - 27.6 x 23.6 x 0.8 inch
€850
![Painting, Harmony Unleashed: Sunflower Whispers, Tetiana Pchelnykova](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2174073_1_grid.jpg)
Harmony Unleashed: Sunflower Whispers
Tetiana Pchelnykova
Painting - 80 x 60 x 2 cm Painting - 31.5 x 23.6 x 0.8 inch
€1,100
![Painting, Eternity of Magnolia, original painting by Tetiana Pchelnykova (1) (1), Tetiana Pchelnykova](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2165561_1_grid.jpg)
Eternity of Magnolia, original painting by Tetiana Pchelnykova (1) (1)
Tetiana Pchelnykova
Painting - 70 x 60 x 2 cm Painting - 27.6 x 23.6 x 0.8 inch
€850
![Painting, Thoughts: The Eve Within, Tetiana Pchelnykova](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2162617_1_grid.jpg)
Thoughts: The Eve Within
Tetiana Pchelnykova
Painting - 90 x 60 x 2 cm Painting - 35.4 x 23.6 x 0.8 inch
€1,250
![Painting, Self-Perception: Night and Day, Tetiana Pchelnykova](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2161591_1_grid.jpg)
Self-Perception: Night and Day
Tetiana Pchelnykova
Painting - 60 x 80 x 2 cm Painting - 23.6 x 31.5 x 0.8 inch
€1,250
![Painting, Whispers of Eternity, Tetiana Pchelnykova](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2159767_1_grid.jpg)
Whispers of Eternity
Tetiana Pchelnykova
Painting - 80 x 60 x 2 cm Painting - 31.5 x 23.6 x 0.8 inch
€1,150
![Painting, Guardians of the Primordial Woods, Tetiana Pchelnykova](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2152963_1_grid.jpg)
Guardians of the Primordial Woods
Tetiana Pchelnykova
Painting - 80 x 60 x 1.8 cm Painting - 31.5 x 23.6 x 0.7 inch
€1,890
![Painting, Whisper of the Soul , Myths Series, Tetiana Pchelnykova](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2151388_1_grid.jpg)
Whisper of the Soul , Myths Series
Tetiana Pchelnykova
Painting - 50 x 50 x 1.8 cm Painting - 19.7 x 19.7 x 0.7 inch
€980
![Painting, Reflections at Dawn, Thoughts series.Triptych., Tetiana Pchelnykova](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2151386_1_grid.jpg)
Reflections at Dawn, Thoughts series.Triptych.
Tetiana Pchelnykova
Painting - 60 x 100 x 1.8 cm Painting - 23.6 x 39.4 x 0.7 inch
€1,300
![Painting, Serenity of Essence, Thoughts series., Tetiana Pchelnykova](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2151376_1_grid.jpg)
Serenity of Essence, Thoughts series.
Tetiana Pchelnykova
Painting - 60 x 80 x 1.8 cm Painting - 23.6 x 31.5 x 0.7 inch
€1,150
![Painting, Slumbering Spirit, Thoughts series., Tetiana Pchelnykova](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2151372_1_grid.jpg)
Slumbering Spirit, Thoughts series.
Tetiana Pchelnykova
Painting - 60 x 80 x 1.8 cm Painting - 23.6 x 31.5 x 0.7 inch
€1,150
![Painting, Echoes of the Forest, Tetiana Pchelnykova](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2151369_1_grid.jpg)
Echoes of the Forest
Tetiana Pchelnykova
Painting - 60 x 80 x 1.8 cm Painting - 23.6 x 31.5 x 0.7 inch
€1,600
![Painting, Harmony in Bloom, Tetiana Pchelnykova](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2151366_1_grid.jpg)
Harmony in Bloom
Tetiana Pchelnykova
Painting - 80 x 80 x 2 cm Painting - 31.5 x 31.5 x 0.8 inch
€1,800
![Painting, Whispers of Ancestry, Thoughts series, Tetiana Pchelnykova](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2149211_1_grid.jpg)
Whispers of Ancestry, Thoughts series
Tetiana Pchelnykova
Painting - 80 x 60 x 1.8 cm Painting - 31.5 x 23.6 x 0.7 inch
€1,150
![Painting, Journey to the inner Abode, Tetiana Pchelnykova](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2149027_1_grid.jpg)
Journey to the inner Abode
Tetiana Pchelnykova
Painting - 80 x 80 x 2 cm Painting - 31.5 x 31.5 x 0.8 inch
€1,080
![Painting, Eva's legacy, Tetiana Pchelnykova](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2149026_1_grid.jpg)
![Painting, Contemplations by the river, Tetiana Pchelnykova](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2149025_1_grid.jpg)
Contemplations by the river
Tetiana Pchelnykova
Painting - 90 x 100 x 2 cm Painting - 35.4 x 39.4 x 0.8 inch
€1,450
![Painting, Woman running, Milburn-Foster](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2148231_1_grid.jpg)
![Painting, Rêveries, Aimée De Courtozé](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2144360_1_grid.jpg)
![Painting, Man running, Woman running, Milburn-Foster](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2143224_1_grid.jpg)
Man running, Woman running
Milburn-Foster
Painting - 92 x 120 x 3 cm Painting - 36.2 x 47.2 x 1.2 inch
€6,800
![Design, Brodlim x Julien Raynaud, Julien Raynaud](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2131351_1_grid.jpg)
Brodlim x Julien Raynaud
Julien Raynaud
Design - 105 x 155 x 3 cm Design - 41.3 x 61 x 1.2 inch
€2,200
![Painting, Éclat, Claire Bonnet-Masimbert](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2129119_1_grid.jpg)
![Painting, Lock out, Raymond Berthelot](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2046603_1_grid.jpg)
![Painting, Les Amoureux, Anna Bukhareva](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/1951650_1_grid.jpg)
![Photography, Untitled (Identity promises series), Imanol Marrodán](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/1949751_1_grid.jpg)
Untitled (Identity promises series)
Imanol Marrodán
Photography - 40 x 80 x 0.2 cm Photography - 15.7 x 31.5 x 0.1 inch
€1,700
![Photography, Summertime en Valle Oscuru (Identity Promises Series), Imanol Marrodán](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/1939605_1_grid.jpg)
Summertime en Valle Oscuru (Identity Promises Series)
Imanol Marrodán
Photography - 30 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 15.7 x 0 inch
€850
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.