![Painting, The ballet angel, Serghei Ghetiu](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2194067_1_grid.jpg)
Human body
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![Painting, The ballet angel, Serghei Ghetiu](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2194067_1_grid.jpg)
![Sculpture, Nude, Aude Herlédan](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2215741_1_grid.jpg)
![Photography, Aventure d'une libertine XIX. From The Secret Album Series, Uwe Ommer](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2215000_1_grid.jpg)
Aventure d'une libertine XIX. From The Secret Album Series
Uwe Ommer
Photography - 37 x 30 x 0.3 cm Photography - 14.6 x 11.8 x 0.1 inch
$2,000
![Photography, Luis Rego - Size M, Arnaud Baumann](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2216242_1_grid.jpg)
Luis Rego - Size M
Arnaud Baumann
Photography - 60 x 40 x 1 cm Photography - 23.6 x 15.7 x 0.4 inch
$839
![Photography, Luis Rego - Size S, Arnaud Baumann](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2216241_1_grid.jpg)
Luis Rego - Size S
Arnaud Baumann
Photography - 36 x 24 x 1 cm Photography - 14.2 x 9.4 x 0.4 inch
$559
![Photography, Jean-Pierre Kalfon - Size M, Arnaud Baumann](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2216234_1_grid.jpg)
Jean-Pierre Kalfon - Size M
Arnaud Baumann
Photography - 60 x 40 x 1 cm Photography - 23.6 x 15.7 x 0.4 inch
$839
![Photography, Jean-Pierre Kalfon - Size S, Arnaud Baumann](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2216233_1_grid.jpg)
Jean-Pierre Kalfon - Size S
Arnaud Baumann
Photography - 36 x 24 x 1 cm Photography - 14.2 x 9.4 x 0.4 inch
$559
![Photography, Autoportrait and my hairstylist Katia - Size M, Arnaud Baumann](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2216224_1_grid.jpg)
Autoportrait and my hairstylist Katia - Size M
Arnaud Baumann
Photography - 60 x 40 x 1 cm Photography - 23.6 x 15.7 x 0.4 inch
$839 $755
![Photography, Autoportrait and my hairstylist Katia - Size S, Arnaud Baumann](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2216222_1_grid.jpg)
Autoportrait and my hairstylist Katia - Size S
Arnaud Baumann
Photography - 36 x 24 x 1 cm Photography - 14.2 x 9.4 x 0.4 inch
$839
![Sculpture, Béa, Roland Masson](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2189158_1_grid.jpg)
![Photography, Aventure d'une libertine XVII. From The Secret Album Series, Uwe Ommer](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2213144_1_grid.jpg)
Aventure d'une libertine XVII. From The Secret Album Series
Uwe Ommer
Photography - 37 x 30 x 0.3 cm Photography - 14.6 x 11.8 x 0.1 inch
$2,000
![Photography, Aventure d'une libertine XI, Uwe Ommer](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2213141_1_grid.jpg)
Aventure d'une libertine XI
Uwe Ommer
Photography - 37 x 30 x 0.3 cm Photography - 14.6 x 11.8 x 0.1 inch
$2,000
![Photography, Aventure d'une libertine V. From The Secret Album Series, Uwe Ommer](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2211395_1_grid.jpg)
Aventure d'une libertine V. From The Secret Album Series
Uwe Ommer
Photography - 37 x 30 x 0.3 cm Photography - 14.6 x 11.8 x 0.1 inch
$2,000
![Sculpture, Yokozuna - série Sumotoris - sculpture terre cuite Raku, Laurence Schlimm Boland](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2215610_1_grid.jpg)
Yokozuna - série Sumotoris - sculpture terre cuite Raku
Laurence Schlimm Boland
Sculpture - 44 x 17 x 15 cm Sculpture - 17.3 x 6.7 x 5.9 inch
$1,538
![Painting, Curiosity, Plamen Ovcharov](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2206238_1_grid.jpg)
![Photography, Extra Virgin Oil, Mathilde Oscar](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2189939_1_grid.jpg)
Extra Virgin Oil
Mathilde Oscar
Photography - 90 x 60 x 1 cm Photography - 35.4 x 23.6 x 0.4 inch
$1,342
![Fine Art Drawings, Study #3 of three phrases, Jim Amaral](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2215999_1_grid.jpg)
Study #3 of three phrases
Jim Amaral
Fine Art Drawings - 46 x 63 x 0.2 cm Fine Art Drawings - 18.1 x 24.8 x 0.1 inch
$895
![Photography, Calendrier Elite, Claude Guillaumin](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2215604_1_grid.jpg)
Calendrier Elite
Claude Guillaumin
Photography - 50 x 50 x 1 cm Photography - 19.7 x 19.7 x 0.4 inch
$1,118
![Painting, Forward, David Paul Kay](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2187343_1_grid.jpg)
![Sculpture, Abandon, Marie-Madeleine Vitrolles](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2212867_1_grid.jpg)
Abandon
Marie-Madeleine Vitrolles
Sculpture - 40 x 25 x 12 cm Sculpture - 15.7 x 9.8 x 4.7 inch
$1,622
![Painting, Stand Up, Greatjoy Ndlovu](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2214927_1_grid.jpg)
![Print, Envol, Maude Ovize](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2215275_1_grid.jpg)
![Photography, Aventure d'une libertine III. From The Secret Album Series, Uwe Ommer](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2208581_1_grid.jpg)
Aventure d'une libertine III. From The Secret Album Series
Uwe Ommer
Photography - 37 x 30 x 0.3 cm Photography - 14.6 x 11.8 x 0.1 inch
$2,000
![Painting, Blind in the freedom of not having you II, Ritchelly Oliveira](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2186839_1_grid.jpg)
Blind in the freedom of not having you II
Ritchelly Oliveira
Painting - 35 x 35 x 3 cm Painting - 13.8 x 13.8 x 1.2 inch
$5,592
![Fine Art Drawings, Untitled (53), Mansour El Habre](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2216160_1_grid.jpg)
Untitled (53)
Mansour El Habre
Fine Art Drawings - 42 x 30 x 1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 16.5 x 11.8 x 0.4 inch
$1,900
![Fine Art Drawings, Untitled (57), Mansour El Habre](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2216135_1_grid.jpg)
Untitled (57)
Mansour El Habre
Fine Art Drawings - 42 x 30 x 1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 16.5 x 11.8 x 0.4 inch
$1,900
![Fine Art Drawings, Untitled (45), Mansour El Habre](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2216132_1_grid.jpg)
Untitled (45)
Mansour El Habre
Fine Art Drawings - 40 x 30 x 1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 15.7 x 11.8 x 0.4 inch
$1,900
![Fine Art Drawings, Untitled (1), Mansour El Habre](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2216130_1_grid.jpg)
Untitled (1)
Mansour El Habre
Fine Art Drawings - 40 x 30 x 1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 15.7 x 11.8 x 0.4 inch
$1,900
![Painting, Amour Amor, Nawel Grant](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2212251_1_grid.jpg)
![Painting, Adam and Eve, Tsanko Tsankoff](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2211636_1_grid.jpg)
![Painting, Instinct, Nawel Aubert](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2215729_1_grid.jpg)
![Painting, Still-life with anatomical structure and curious green eyes, Vladimir Kolosov](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2210546_1_grid.jpg)
Still-life with anatomical structure and curious green eyes
Vladimir Kolosov
Painting - 50.8 x 40.6 x 2.5 cm Painting - 20 x 16 x 1 inch
$930
![Photography, Aventure d'une libertine I. From The Secret Album Series, Uwe Ommer](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2208565_1_grid.jpg)
Aventure d'une libertine I. From The Secret Album Series
Uwe Ommer
Photography - 37 x 30 x 0.3 cm Photography - 14.6 x 11.8 x 0.1 inch
$2,000
![Fine Art Drawings, Untitled (51), Mansour El Habre](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2216225_1_grid.jpg)
Untitled (51)
Mansour El Habre
Fine Art Drawings - 30 x 42 x 1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 11.8 x 16.5 x 0.4 inch
$1,900
![Fine Art Drawings, Untitled (50), Mansour El Habre](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2216223_1_grid.jpg)
Untitled (50)
Mansour El Habre
Fine Art Drawings - 30 x 42 x 1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 11.8 x 16.5 x 0.4 inch
$1,900
![Fine Art Drawings, Untitled (47), Mansour El Habre](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2216220_1_grid.jpg)
Untitled (47)
Mansour El Habre
Fine Art Drawings - 30 x 42 x 1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 11.8 x 16.5 x 0.4 inch
$1,900
![Fine Art Drawings, Untitled (42), Mansour El Habre](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2216167_1_grid.jpg)
Untitled (42)
Mansour El Habre
Fine Art Drawings - 35 x 25 x 1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 13.8 x 9.8 x 0.4 inch
$1,650
![Fine Art Drawings, Untitled (41), Mansour El Habre](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2216165_1_grid.jpg)
Untitled (41)
Mansour El Habre
Fine Art Drawings - 36 x 30 x 1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 14.2 x 11.8 x 0.4 inch
$1,650
![Fine Art Drawings, Untitled (3), Mansour El Habre](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2216159_1_grid.jpg)
Untitled (3)
Mansour El Habre
Fine Art Drawings - 42 x 30 x 1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 16.5 x 11.8 x 0.4 inch
$1,900
![Fine Art Drawings, Untitled (54), Mansour El Habre](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2216155_1_grid.jpg)
Untitled (54)
Mansour El Habre
Fine Art Drawings - 42 x 30 x 1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 16.5 x 11.8 x 0.4 inch
$1,900
![Fine Art Drawings, Untitled (55), Mansour El Habre](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2216146_1_grid.jpg)
Untitled (55)
Mansour El Habre
Fine Art Drawings - 42 x 30 x 1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 16.5 x 11.8 x 0.4 inch
$1,900
![Fine Art Drawings, Untitled (57) (1), Mansour El Habre](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2216138_1_grid.jpg)
Untitled (57) (1)
Mansour El Habre
Fine Art Drawings - 42 x 30 x 1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 16.5 x 11.8 x 0.4 inch
$1,900
![Painting, Corolle, Jade Mouge](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2210045_1_grid.jpg)
![Photography, Aventure d'une libertine IV. From The Secret Album Series, Uwe Ommer](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2211394_1_grid.jpg)
Aventure d'une libertine IV. From The Secret Album Series
Uwe Ommer
Photography - 60 x 50 x 0.3 cm Photography - 23.6 x 19.7 x 0.1 inch
$2,500
![Painting, They didn't teach me how to be loved, Ritchelly Oliveira](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2187069_1_grid.jpg)
They didn't teach me how to be loved
Ritchelly Oliveira
Painting - 126 x 106 x 3 cm Painting - 49.6 x 41.7 x 1.2 inch
$11,856
![Photography, Aventure d'une libertine XIV. From The Secret Album Series, Uwe Ommer](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2213143_1_grid.jpg)
Aventure d'une libertine XIV. From The Secret Album Series
Uwe Ommer
Photography - 60 x 50 x 0.3 cm Photography - 23.6 x 19.7 x 0.1 inch
$2,500
![Fine Art Drawings, While the onions pierce, Bougainvillea are Fierce. From the covid diaries series, Megha Joshi](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2215757_1_grid.jpg)
While the onions pierce, Bougainvillea are Fierce. From the covid diaries series
Megha Joshi
Fine Art Drawings - 40.6 x 30.5 x 0.3 cm Fine Art Drawings - 16 x 12 x 0.1 inch
$1,200
![Print, Total Challenge - The Red Line, Margot Laffon](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2216141_1_grid.jpg)
Total Challenge - The Red Line
Margot Laffon
Print - 92.5 x 61 x 0.1 cm Print - 36.4 x 24 x 0 inch
$2,237 $2,013
![Painting, La Danseuse, Noa Mai](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2215593_1_grid.jpg)
![Painting, Sorority, Sophie D'herbercourt](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2217241_1_grid.jpg)
![Painting, Sandcastles, Sophie D'herbercourt](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2217235_1_grid.jpg)
Sandcastles
Sophie D'herbercourt
Painting - 130 x 162 x 2 cm Painting - 51.2 x 63.8 x 0.8 inch
$8,948
![Painting, L'envol, Jade Mouge](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2193378_1_grid.jpg)
![Photography, Aventure d'une libertine XX. From The Secret Album Series, Uwe Ommer](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2215001_1_grid.jpg)
Aventure d'une libertine XX. From The Secret Album Series
Uwe Ommer
Photography - 60 x 50 x 0.3 cm Photography - 23.6 x 19.7 x 0.1 inch
$2,500
![Photography, Aventure d'une libertine XVIII. From The Secret Album Series, Uwe Ommer](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2214999_1_grid.jpg)
Aventure d'une libertine XVIII. From The Secret Album Series
Uwe Ommer
Photography - 60 x 50 x 0.3 cm Photography - 23.6 x 19.7 x 0.1 inch
$2,500
![Photography, La Piscine, David Djian](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2208916_1_grid.jpg)
![Photography, Artemis & Orion - Size S, Mathilde Oscar](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2209526_1_grid.jpg)
Artemis & Orion - Size S
Mathilde Oscar
Photography - 90 x 60 x 1 cm Photography - 35.4 x 23.6 x 0.4 inch
$1,342
![Photography, Fair Trade, Grzegorz Sikorski](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2215576_1_grid.jpg)
![Painting, Rising from the Depths, Trayko Popov](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2217349_1_grid.jpg)
Rising from the Depths
Trayko Popov
Painting - 80 x 100 x 2 cm Painting - 31.5 x 39.4 x 0.8 inch
$2,013
![Painting, Last Night in Bangkok, Pink](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2216562_1_grid.jpg)
![Photography, Aventure d'une libertine VII. From The Secret Album Series, Uwe Ommer](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2211396_1_grid.jpg)
Aventure d'une libertine VII. From The Secret Album Series
Uwe Ommer
Photography - 60 x 50 x 0.3 cm Photography - 23.6 x 19.7 x 0.1 inch
$2,500
![Sculpture, OdaliX, Gaspard Mitz](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2210240_1_grid.jpg)
![Sculpture, Fée II, Carl Jaunay](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2209357_1_grid.jpg)
![Sculpture, Fée I, Carl Jaunay](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2209356_1_grid.jpg)
![Photography, Roll, Théo Gosselin](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2183292_1_grid.jpg)
![Painting, Expectation, Oluwatobiloba Amusan](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2217005_1_grid.jpg)
Expectation
Oluwatobiloba Amusan
Painting - 121.9 x 91.4 x 2.5 cm Painting - 48 x 36 x 1 inch
$3,350
![Painting, La Seconde Eternelle, Hugo Pondz](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2215296_1_grid.jpg)
La Seconde Eternelle
Hugo Pondz
Painting - 80 x 120 x 3 cm Painting - 31.5 x 47.2 x 1.2 inch
$16,777
![Painting, Templiers, Jérôme Sorolla "Le parrain des arts"](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2210955_1_grid.jpg)
Templiers
Jérôme Sorolla "Le parrain des arts"
Painting - 115 x 54 x 1 cm Painting - 45.3 x 21.3 x 0.4 inch
$1,342
![Painting, El club de guardar, Alexander Grahovsky](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2217369_1_grid.jpg)
![Sculpture, L'Interdite, Marc Petit](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2191327_1_grid.jpg)
![Sculpture, Le Petit Secret, Marc Petit](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2188691_1_grid.jpg)
![Painting, The man (after pina bausch) forbidden collage (6), Julien Delagrange](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2187221_1_grid.jpg)
The man (after pina bausch) forbidden collage (6)
Julien Delagrange
Painting - 65 x 50 x 0.1 cm Painting - 25.6 x 19.7 x 0 inch
$2,684
![Sculpture, L'Oiseau Blessé, Marc Petit](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2183374_1_grid.jpg)
![Sculpture, Adagio, Marc Petit](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2183371_1_grid.jpg)
![Painting, La lune et l'orange, Sophie D'herbercourt](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2217229_1_grid.jpg)
La lune et l'orange
Sophie D'herbercourt
Painting - 162 x 97 x 2 cm Painting - 63.8 x 38.2 x 0.8 inch
$8,948
![Photography, Luis Rego - Size XS, Arnaud Baumann](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2216238_1_grid.jpg)
Luis Rego - Size XS
Arnaud Baumann
Photography - 30 x 20 x 1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 7.9 x 0.4 inch
$280
![Photography, Jean-Pierre Kalfon - Size XS, Arnaud Baumann](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2216231_1_grid.jpg)
Jean-Pierre Kalfon - Size XS
Arnaud Baumann
Photography - 30 x 20 x 1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 7.9 x 0.4 inch
$280
![Photography, Autoportrait and my hairstylist Katia - Size XS, Arnaud Baumann](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2216217_1_grid.jpg)
Autoportrait and my hairstylist Katia - Size XS
Arnaud Baumann
Photography - 30 x 20 x 1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 7.9 x 0.4 inch
$280
![Sculpture, La danseuse de cabaret assise (1), Patricia Grangier](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2215575_1_grid.jpg)
La danseuse de cabaret assise (1)
Patricia Grangier
Sculpture - 30 x 10 x 20 cm Sculpture - 11.8 x 3.9 x 7.9 inch
$3,087
![Sculpture, La danseuse de cabaret assise, Patricia Grangier](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2215571_1_grid.jpg)
La danseuse de cabaret assise
Patricia Grangier
Sculpture - 30 x 10 x 20 cm Sculpture - 11.8 x 3.9 x 7.9 inch
$3,087
![Photography, The Boomer Collection - HB3110, Idan Wizen](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2206194_1_grid.jpg)
The Boomer Collection - HB3110
Idan Wizen
Photography - 60 x 90 x 0.1 cm Photography - 23.6 x 35.4 x 0 inch
$1,342
![Photography, The Boomer Collection - HB2984, Idan Wizen](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2206193_1_grid.jpg)
The Boomer Collection - HB2984
Idan Wizen
Photography - 90 x 60 x 0.1 cm Photography - 35.4 x 23.6 x 0 inch
$1,342
![Photography, Luis Rego - Size L, Arnaud Baumann](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2216243_1_grid.jpg)
Luis Rego - Size L
Arnaud Baumann
Photography - 150 x 100 x 1 cm Photography - 59.1 x 39.4 x 0.4 inch
$10,066
![Photography, Jean-Pierre Kalfon - Size L, Arnaud Baumann](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2216235_1_grid.jpg)
Jean-Pierre Kalfon - Size L
Arnaud Baumann
Photography - 150 x 100 x 1 cm Photography - 59.1 x 39.4 x 0.4 inch
$10,066
![Photography, Autoportrait and my hairstylist Katia - Size L, Arnaud Baumann](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2216228_1_grid.jpg)
Autoportrait and my hairstylist Katia - Size L
Arnaud Baumann
Photography - 150 x 100 x 1 cm Photography - 59.1 x 39.4 x 0.4 inch
$10,066
![Painting, Ángel y demonio nº 1/2, Akross The Twin](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2215634_1_grid.jpg)
Ángel y demonio nº 1/2
Akross The Twin
Painting - 80 x 40 x 3 cm Painting - 31.5 x 15.7 x 1.2 inch
$1,510
![Photography, Engulfment, Stadium #1, Javier Rey](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2212777_1_grid.jpg)
Engulfment, Stadium #1
Javier Rey
Photography - 75 x 50 x 0.3 cm Photography - 29.5 x 19.7 x 0.1 inch
$1,300
![Photography, L'Épreuve de Psyché - Format S, Mathilde Oscar](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2212436_1_grid.jpg)
L'Épreuve de Psyché - Format S
Mathilde Oscar
Photography - 90 x 60 x 1 cm Photography - 35.4 x 23.6 x 0.4 inch
$1,342
![Photography, Roll, Théo Gosselin](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2183293_1_grid.jpg)
![Fine Art Drawings, La tristesse de la vie, Franciszek Starowieyski](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2207587_1_grid.jpg)
La tristesse de la vie
Franciszek Starowieyski
Fine Art Drawings - 21 x 30 x 0.2 cm Fine Art Drawings - 8.3 x 11.8 x 0.1 inch
$671
![Photography, No title (No62), Suki Da](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2210662_1_grid.jpg)
![Sculpture, Mater Dolorosa, Marc Petit](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2192612_1_grid.jpg)
![Sculpture, Alba Ripa, Marc Petit](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2191330_1_grid.jpg)
![Sculpture, La Sphinge, Marc Petit](https://media.artsper.com/artwork/2191325_1_grid.jpg)
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.