In this essay I aim to compare three writers' opinions and attitudes towards the nude, these writers being Castagnary , Zola and Clark . I will also discuss whether or not I think their comments offer an adequate response to the nude, while referencing two works from the Salon of 1863- Alexandre Cabanel's "Venus" (fig. 1) and Edouard Manet's "Olympia" (fig. 2).

The nude in art has been a consistent theme and subject for artists throughout the history of art, be it religious art or portraiture, the human form has always fascinated mankind . However attitudes and opinions about the 'right' and 'wrong' kind of nudes differ hugely, as I will discuss. In the controversial salon of 1863 crowds were dismayed ... Showed first 120 words of 2384 Size (words) ...

... Continuing with another 115 out of 2384 Size (words) ...agree with showing the body as it is, complete with every blemish- as Picasso said 'if it is pure (as Venus is in Cabanel's painting) it is not art' . I also agree with Clark to some extent when he says that a nude's purpose is to be erotic, but I do not believe that this is its only purpose. The nude can evoke all sorts of feelings within the viewer- feelings of pity, of empathy, of amazement, or of appreciation of our human bodies. 'To be nude is to revert back to the way we were in the beginning' .

Bibliography

Books and Articles Used

·BORZELLO, Frances- Nude Awakening- The Guardian Online- 2002 (Found at http://arts.guardian.co.uk/features/story/0,11710,824240,00.html)

·CLARK, ...Essay still continues 100 more words...