The nude—the unclothed or partially clothed human body—has been featured in European art for millennia. After , with the waning of the Middle Ages, artists depicted nudes as increasingly three-dimensional, vibrant, and lifelike— in short, more immediate and real.
They employed diverse means: in Italy through a return to the models of ancient Greek and Roman art, and in northern Europe through refinements to the technique of painting in oils that enabled painters to capture textures—of flesh, of hair, of the sparkle in an eye—with unprecedented truth to nature. In concert with new scientific approaches, artists across Europe studied nature—including the human body—with increasing specificity and deliberation.
The meaningful depiction of the human form became the highest aspiration for artists, and their efforts often resulted in figures of notable sensuality. For Christians, however—who represented most of European society at the time—the nude body could be disturbing, arousing personal desire.
Their conflicted responses are mirrored in our own body-obsessed era, filled with imagery of nudity. Download the exhibition object checklist. Renaissance Europe comprised a diverse body of countries and territories divided by language, modes of government, and local customs, but with the great majority of its populations sharing a Christian faith. In particular, the doctrines and rites of the Roman Catholic Church fostered common values and traditions throughout western and central Europe.
Art played a key role in Catholic worship and instruction: on church walls and facades, on altars, and in liturgical and devotional books. Jesus Christ, the son of God and redeemer of humankind according to Christian belief, resides at the heart of its imagery; his body was shown as mostly unclothed, revealing the signs of his physical persecution and crucifixion.
