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The Naked Nude
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Check link for latest rating. ( 18 ratings, 2 reviews)
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Format: Paperback / softback
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The Naked Nude
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Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and
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Description
The story of the nude in art in our times, told by a popular art historian with a rare gift for sharing her passions and ideas.
The representation of the nude in art remained for many centuries a victory of fiction over fact. Beautiful, handsome, flawless—its great success was to distance the unclothed body from any uncomfortably explicit taint of sexuality, eroticism or imperfection.
In this newly updated study, Frances Borzello contrasts the civilised, sanitised, perfected nude of Kenneth Clark's classic, The Nude: A Study in Ideal Form (1956), with today's depictions: raw, uncomfortable, both disturbing and intriguing. Grittier and more subtle, depicting variously gendered bodies, the new nude asks awkward questions and behaves provocatively. It is a very naked nude, created to deal with the issues and contradictions that surround the body in our time.
Borzello explores the role of the nude in twentieth- and twenty-first-century art, looking at the work of a wide range of international artists creating contemporary nudes. Her fascinating text is complemented by a profusion of well-chosen, unusual and beautifully reproduced illustrations.
The story begins with a tale of life, death and resurrection—an investigation into how and why the nude has survived and flourished in an art world that prematurely announced its demise. Subsequent chapters take a thematic approach, focusing in turn on Body art and Performance art, the new perspectives of women artists, the nude in painting, portraiture and sculpture, and in its most extreme and graphic expressions that intentionally push the boundaries of both art and our comfort zone.
The final chapter illustrates radical developments in art and culture over the last decade, focusing in particular on artworks by women, trans artists, and artists of colour. Borzello links these works to their art-historical and political predecessors, demonstrating the continually unending capacity of the nude to disrupt traditional hierarchies and gender categories in life and art.
Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?
The Naked Nude by Frances Borzello is lauded for its thoughtful and intelligent exploration of the evolving portrayal of the nude in art. Reviewers highlight its ability to reflect on human nature, offering a titillating yet sometimes uncomfortable examination. The book is also praised for its fascinating and often humorous insights into humanity's ongoing obsession with the naked body.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9780500296677
Publisher: Thames & Hudson Ltd
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 18 August 2022
Country: United Kingdom
Imprint: Thames & Hudson Ltd
Illustration: 13 Illustrations, black and white; 113 Illustrations, color
Audience: General / adult
DIMENSIONS
Width: 152.0mm
Height: 229.0mm
Weight: 480g
Pages: 224
Collections
About the Author
Frances Borzello is an art historian and the author of several books, including A World of Our Own: Women as Artists, Seeing Ourselves: Women's Self-Portraits and At Home: The Domestic Interior in Art, all published by Thames & Hudson.
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