Human body
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Serie Las Piadosas
Enriqueta Aguiló
Painting - 90 x 110 x 2 cm Painting - 35.4 x 43.3 x 0.8 inch
$4,959
Yellow Invitation
Anastasia Kurakina
Fine Art Drawings - 18.5 x 18 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 7.3 x 7.1 x 0 inch
$763
Nude of a Woman
Anastasia Kurakina
Fine Art Drawings - 25 x 17 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 9.8 x 6.7 x 0 inch
$763
Night & Day
Anastasia Kurakina
Fine Art Drawings - 14 x 19 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 5.5 x 7.5 x 0 inch
$763
Nude of Woman
Anastasia Kurakina
Fine Art Drawings - 24 x 24.5 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 9.4 x 9.6 x 0 inch
$763
Morning Lines
Anastasia Kurakina
Fine Art Drawings - 17 x 15 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 6.7 x 5.9 x 0 inch
$763
Beyond What You Desire
Anastasia Kurakina
Painting - 13 x 20 x 0.1 cm Painting - 5.1 x 7.9 x 0 inch
$763
Woman in Orange
Anastasia Kurakina
Painting - 60 x 55 x 1 cm Painting - 23.6 x 21.7 x 0.4 inch
$1,234
Schiele 1984 tribute 3
Simão Da Silva
Fine Art Drawings - 40 x 30 cm Fine Art Drawings - 15.7 x 11.8 inch
$1,851
NUDE Lovers 4
Simão Da Silva
Fine Art Drawings - 40 x 30 cm Fine Art Drawings - 15.7 x 11.8 inch
$1,963
Arco. From the series Espiral
Ricky Cohete
Photography - 76.2 x 50.8 x 0.3 cm Photography - 30 x 20 x 0.1 inch
$2,222
Folding man Two: From Motion Series
Ricky Cohete
Photography - 91.4 x 61 x 0.3 cm Photography - 36 x 24 x 0.1 inch
$2,222
Folding man One: From Motion Series
Ricky Cohete
Photography - 91.4 x 61 x 0.3 cm Photography - 36 x 24 x 0.1 inch
$2,222
Man Curve Four: From Motion Series
Ricky Cohete
Photography - 91.4 x 61 x 0.3 cm Photography - 36 x 24 x 0.1 inch
$2,222
Man Curve One: From Motion Series
Ricky Cohete
Photography - 91.4 x 61 x 0.3 cm Photography - 36 x 24 x 0.1 inch
$2,222
Man Back One: From Motion Series
Ricky Cohete
Photography - 91.4 x 61 x 0.3 cm Photography - 36 x 24 x 0.1 inch
$2,222
Man Curve Four: From Motion Series
Ricky Cohete
Photography - 91.4 x 61 x 0.3 cm Photography - 36 x 24 x 0.1 inch
$2,222
Man Curve Three: From Motion Series
Ricky Cohete
Photography - 91.4 x 61 x 0.3 cm Photography - 36 x 24 x 0.1 inch
$2,222
Man Curve Two: From Motion Series
Ricky Cohete
Photography - 91.4 x 61 x 0.3 cm Photography - 36 x 24 x 0.1 inch
$2,222
Man Curve One: From Motion Series
Ricky Cohete
Photography - 91.4 x 61 x 0.3 cm Photography - 36 x 24 x 0.1 inch
$2,222
Man against wall Two: From Motion Series
Ricky Cohete
Photography - 91.4 x 61 x 0.3 cm Photography - 36 x 24 x 0.1 inch
$2,222
Man against wall One: From Motion Series
Ricky Cohete
Photography - 91.4 x 61 x 0.3 cm Photography - 36 x 24 x 0.1 inch
$2,222
Folding man Two: From Motion Series
Ricky Cohete
Photography - 91.4 x 61 x 0.3 cm Photography - 36 x 24 x 0.1 inch
$2,222
Folding man One: From Motion Series
Ricky Cohete
Photography - 91.4 x 61 x 0.3 cm Photography - 36 x 24 x 0.1 inch
$2,222
Men Legs One: From Motion Series
Ricky Cohete
Photography - 91.4 x 61 x 0.3 cm Photography - 36 x 24 x 0.1 inch
$2,222
Man Back One, Medium
Ricky Cohete
Photography - 91.4 x 61 x 0.3 cm Photography - 36 x 24 x 0.1 inch
$2,222
Phillip, Nine, Medium
Ricky Cohete
Photography - 91.4 x 61 x 0.3 cm Photography - 36 x 24 x 0.1 inch
$2,222
Phillip, Eight, Medium
Ricky Cohete
Photography - 91.4 x 61 x 0.3 cm Photography - 36 x 24 x 0.1 inch
$2,222
Phillip, Seven, Medium
Ricky Cohete
Photography - 91.4 x 61 x 0.3 cm Photography - 36 x 24 x 0.1 inch
$2,222
Phillip, Six, Medium
Ricky Cohete
Photography - 91.4 x 61 x 0.3 cm Photography - 36 x 24 x 0.1 inch
$2,222
Phillip, Five, Medium
Ricky Cohete
Photography - 91.4 x 61 x 0.3 cm Photography - 36 x 24 x 0.1 inch
$2,222
Phillip, Four, Medium
Ricky Cohete
Photography - 91.4 x 61 x 0.3 cm Photography - 36 x 24 x 0.1 inch
$2,222
Phillip, Three, Medium
Ricky Cohete
Photography - 91.4 x 61 x 0.3 cm Photography - 36 x 24 x 0.1 inch
$2,222
Phillip, Two, Medium
Ricky Cohete
Photography - 91.4 x 61 x 0.3 cm Photography - 36 x 24 x 0.1 inch
$2,222
Phillip, One, Medium
Ricky Cohete
Photography - 91.4 x 61 x 0.3 cm Photography - 36 x 24 x 0.1 inch
$2,222
Untitled 2: from the Blanco Series. Archival Pigment print, Sepia
Ricky Cohete
Photography - 91.4 x 61 x 0.3 cm Photography - 36 x 24 x 0.1 inch
$2,222
Martina Spenta fra la Carta da Parati (Martina Spenta among the Wallpaper)
Luigi Iona
Painting - 70 x 70 x 0.1 cm Painting - 27.6 x 27.6 x 0 inch
$202
Act 11 | Best hotel in town
Grzegorz Sikorski
Photography - 80 x 80 x 0.1 cm Photography - 31.5 x 31.5 x 0 inch
$280
Act 10 | A glass of champagne
Grzegorz Sikorski
Photography - 80 x 80 x 0.1 cm Photography - 31.5 x 31.5 x 0 inch
$280
Act 8 | Peak Climax - all tricks allowed
Grzegorz Sikorski
Photography - 80 x 80 x 0.1 cm Photography - 31.5 x 31.5 x 0 inch
$280
Act 7 | The things we would do for an espresso
Grzegorz Sikorski
Photography - 80 x 80 x 0.1 cm Photography - 31.5 x 31.5 x 0 inch
$280
Act 5 | S-extremely thirsty
Grzegorz Sikorski
Photography - 80 x 80 x 0.1 cm Photography - 31.5 x 31.5 x 0 inch
$280
Act 4 | It all came out in the wash
Grzegorz Sikorski
Photography - 80 x 80 x 0.1 cm Photography - 31.5 x 31.5 x 0 inch
$280
Act 12 | Boarding complete
Grzegorz Sikorski
Photography - 80 x 80 x 0.1 cm Photography - 31.5 x 31.5 x 0 inch
$280
L'envol
Alessandro Montalbano
Sculpture - 61.5 x 51.5 x 26.5 cm Sculpture - 24.2 x 20.3 x 10.4 inch
$17,813
Satyr, Drawing Restraint 7, Matthew Barney studio, NYC
Michael James O'Brien
Photography - 61 x 43.2 x 0.3 cm Photography - 24 x 17 x 0.1 inch
$4,000
The nude
Alberto Ziveri
Fine Art Drawings - 15 x 11 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 5.9 x 4.3 x 0 inch
$561
A sketchy sensation
Dzovig Arnelian
Painting - 77 x 77 x 0.5 cm Painting - 30.3 x 30.3 x 0.2 inch
$985 $887
Untitled, Sepia
Ricky Cohete
Photography - 76.2 x 50.8 x 0.3 cm Photography - 30 x 20 x 0.1 inch
$2,222
Matthew Barney, Cremaster 5
Michael James O'Brien
Photography - 43.2 x 61 x 0.3 cm Photography - 17 x 24 x 0.1 inch
$4,000
Man with crossed arms II
Derek Overfield
Painting - 121.9 x 76.2 x 7.6 cm Painting - 48 x 30 x 3 inch
$740
Blasphemy upon the wall
Derek Overfield
Painting - 121.9 x 76.2 x 7.6 cm Painting - 48 x 30 x 3 inch
$740
Hombre en red
Ricky Cohete
Photography - 76.2 x 50.8 x 0.3 cm Photography - 30 x 20 x 0.1 inch
$2,222
Matthew Barney, Cremaster 5
Michael James O'Brien
Photography - 43.2 x 61 x 0.3 cm Photography - 17 x 24 x 0.1 inch
$4,000
Reclining figure
Dzovig Arnelian
Painting - 88 x 126 x 1 cm Painting - 34.6 x 49.6 x 0.4 inch
$756 $681
Two starlings and a butterfly (Triptych) II
Ottelien Huckin
Painting - 34 x 68 x 1 cm Painting - 13.4 x 26.8 x 0.4 inch
$2,878
The Lebanese Mona Lisa
Dzovig Arnelian
Painting - 100 x 75 x 0.5 cm Painting - 39.4 x 29.5 x 0.2 inch
$680
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.