Looking back, the naked body has taken many forms in art throughout history. Because nudity in art has existed for so long there are countless of aspects to explore within this genre, but in this blog post I’m looking into the finer details of nude photography, where it all started and what on earth it has to do with stock photography.
Before photography
The first time the nude was given its significance as an art form was in Ancient Greece. The human body, particularly the male, was celebrated in religious festivals where athletes were competing completely naked in honour of the god Zeus. Winning these games would also bring great honour to the athletes and their families and their bodies became symbols of triumph, glory and even moral excellence. The public would show their honour by gifting them with sculptures, written poems and pottery beautifully painted with the scenes from the games. With the resurgence of interest in the Classical period during the Renaissance, nude art took on a new form. Artists like Leonardo da Vinci studied the anatomy of the body and created work reflecting on close calculations and accuracy. Both in painting and sculpture the bare body gave the artist more freedom to express movement and emotion and as creating work so lifelike is extremely challenging the nude has been considered the greatest achievement in art ever since.
But the nude in art is far from just a form of artistic skill. It was also common to use nudity when portraying mythological gods or goddesses to symbolise the different virtues such as bravery, beauty and fertility. It has also later been used to signify divinity and innocence in Christian paintings.
The death of art
When the photograph was first introduced it was feared that it would be the death of art and was quickly given the function as a purely scientific tool. Many artists however found the camera useful in their profession, as photography offered a starting point for their nude paintings. It was after all less complicated to replicate a still photo than a life model. Although the photos themselves were not worthy of their art, they definitely laid the groundwork for later nude photography and is one reason why much of the same symbolism can be found in both genres. By stripping the subject of its clothes, the photographer forces the viewer to read an image purely from body language and subtle gestures. A carefully positioned hand can give the viewer a glimpse into the mental state of the figure, and whether it is relaxed, tensed, open or closed indicates different human emotions that we all recognise.
Taboos and controversy
The photographic medium is somewhat different to other art forms in terms of its realistic approach and it really did change the landscape of nudity in art. When the camera became affordable for the masses around 1900 new ideas were allowed to take shape. Proving that the camera is an excellent tool for documenting society some photographers turned their lenses on people’s most private moments, forcing taboos into daylight to provoke discussion. and are two photographers that developed an intimate language with photography that was never seen before. Nan Goldin’s snapshots draw attention to the shadows of the western drug and sex culture, and the abusive relationships (sometimes her own) that follow. Sally Mann’s personal photography created controversy in other ways by portraying moments of her children growing up with an unsettling intimacy.
Clothes are always subject to context which immediately establishes meaning in the photograph, so after literally removing a layer the image is left with a more raw connection to emotion and senses. It’s easy to see how nudity has had such a remarkable effect in the history of art, but how is this all relevant to stock photography?
Nude photography and stock
It’s a fine balance between artistic nude photography and inappropriate material. The glamour and erotic side of nude photography has never really belonged within the framework of stock photography. Neither has the kind of thought provoking nudity belonging to the contemporary world of art. So I turned to our Director of Photography, Alexandra Bortkiewicz, to find out what kind of nude photography would be of interest to our customers here at Alamy. She explained that whilst some of our customers might buy “tasteful” shots of nude bodies for consumer goods as wall art or even calendars, there might be a bigger demand for this type of imagery from the publishing houses. For book covers in the thriller, crime, romance and fantasy genres especially, images of attractive torsos and hints of nudity are often popular choices. In terms of the search term “nude” it is most used within the context of health and beauty. I did however stumble across this image below of a girl carrying her dog in the woods and I thought it was an excellent example of a lifestyle image using nudity to convey a more honest and authentic feeling.
If the idea of taking nude photographs have ever crossed your mind, then I hope this blog post has inspired you to try it out. It is not at all an art belonging to a different era, and I think its safe to say it’s a subject that will never become out of date.