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The Nude Female Form and its Evolutions in Art

A timeline of the nude female figure throughout the history of art and how the anatomy aesthetics has changed. Gesture and figure painting made during different periods and styles have changed throughout the last half of the millennium.

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Thesis

The depiction of the nude female form has changed drastically throughout all periods of art, and will continue to do so.

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Summer Jacopo Tintoretto

Oil on Canvas

1555

Italy

This figure has traits common in Renaissance figures with the scenery and drapery. There is soft foliage overlapped by the figure, a distressed color palette with the brightest tones coming from the figure, and a laying contrapossto figure. Loose perspective, as was common during the renaissance, is present with little structure of distance. As perspective and the rules around it were still be made during the renaissance, this painting is no outlier. A defined foreground contrasts the vague and faded mid-ground and background. The sky and the horizon do not match the visual points the figure rests on, but the piece still communicates a full scene. The style of even shading in the fabric is another common attribute of Renaissance paintings.

Gesture and anatomy in this piece resembles other interpretations of the female form during the renaissance. There is definition and bulk in the upper arms thats more akin to the male figure, as many classical painters during this era were primarily familiar with the male form rather than the female. Highlighted deltoids and a thicker neck show more muscle mass than fat mass in the figure, but it is still clearly a female form. In gesture there is exclusively feminine movements and placements. The resting left hip compliments the waist and twisted ribs that face towards the viewer. Placing the right arm atop the head is another common pose in the Renaissance for women, as well as the left hand with the placement of a slightly rogue pinky.

Renaissance

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Perseus Releases Andromeda

Joachim Wtewael

1611

Oil on Canvas

France

Many different subjects come together to accompany the focal point figure. The main subject, Andromeda, is posed with the right leg bearing the weight. Andromeda is placed on the left side of the painting with an interesting composition giving the left side of the painting the most attention. Most of the space of the painting is taken up with mid ground and background subjects, that interact with each other. As with many Mannerism paintings the palette has rich reds and saturated pinks. Another note is the use of warm tones to change the appeal of the blues. The expert control of the colors leavings typically cooler palettes to have fleshy qualities. The female figure in this has fat distribution more akin to a man as the mid section has insinuation of muscles, as well as the right shoulder having visible back muscle that can be seen in the front.

Mannerism

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Woman with a Parrot

Gustave Courbet

1866

Oil on Canvas

France

This Baroque painting focus primarily on the figure as the composition of the painting relies on the slack and posture of the subject. While the parrot is the focus of the focal point, it blends into the background of the hanged rug or tapestry. Having a smoother and less defined body, this figure separates itself from female qualities found in other masterworks. Specifically this figure has more uniquely feminine attributes, rather than a more built and toned body with female characteristics added onto it. This from masters during the Humanism period concerning themselves primarily with the male form. This figure has a cylindrical ribcage and a lack of muscle connection between the pectorals muscles that the breasts lay on.

Baroque

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Mrs. Hale as Euphrosyne Angelica Kauffmann

Sir Joshua Reynolds

1792

Oil on Canvas

Sweden

As with most Neoclassical paintings, this painting has a figures entire body shown with a mid range view of the scene. There is little importance stressed on the subject and their actions, and gesture is kept to a minimum with no exaggerations. Browns and yellows are the undertones with the all the subjects skin having some portion being made of yellow. Surrounding actions and subjects contrast the main figure with laborious work and field tasks, her chastity possibly represented by her graceful pose opposed to the others.

Anatomical qualities that show often in this art period in female figures are long sloping trapezius muscles and lacking definition of the chest area. While her breasts are lightly outlined by the sheer fabric, female qualities in the figure have focus on the waist and the length of the thigh. Figures in this era had aesthetics more so about elegant movement and personified virtues. Less focus on fertility associated features and more complex concepts of natural beauty starting to develop during this time.

Neoclassical

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aRThe Artist's Studio: A Real Allegory of the Last 7 Years of My Life

Gustave Courbet

1855

Oil on Canvas

France

The nude female form is a primary focus as the other subjects filling the space nearly entirely comprised of men. Nakedness is the focal point with the painters painting showing to have no figures within it. The scene supposedly depicts the bustle of an artists studio filled with those that take interest in his life and process. The many surveyors are based off the patrons, commissioners, fellow artists, and even a muse from the life of Gustave Courbet. All eyes are drawn to the painting which insinuates a meta fiction about the painting within this painting. Courbet possibly muses here that the audience and viewers of this painting are within the crowd pictured in it.

Giving spotlight to the focal point, the naked lady at the near center of the painting has gesture related to most other Realism paintings of women. Emphasis on the elongated neck and the recoiled arm are both qualities of female forms common in the Realism genre. It is particularly amusing to see the male figure models in the shadow of the landscape painting with downcast gazes and melodramatic poses. Courbet potentially making commentary on his preference of the female form over the male form, which would have been an outlier during this art period in the 1800s.

Realism

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Salome

Alphonse Mucha

1997

Colored Lithograph

Czech

Rather than symbolism and narrative characteristics within this piece, the main highlights are of design aesthetics and illustrative qualities. Muted greens and soft pinks against the skin make for a beautifully dull palette, with colors that allow for the black hair and outlines to actually be a pale brown that contrasts against the neighboring colors. Similarly to other Art Nouveau art there is accentuation on the fluidity of the form and the connectedness of the lines. Noteworthy points about the anatomy and gesture on the figure is the correctness of the figure is sacrificed often to keep the line-work and forms consistent to the pose portrayal. Her left hip bone juts past her mid-section in a 3/4ths angle. Obviously this is not achievable on a real lady, but the aesthetic is maintained for the sake of the overall movement and visual in the painting.

Art Nouveau

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Awakening Women

Eva Gonzales

1878

Oil on Canvas

France

Negative space is brilliantly the focus point in this painting with the characters silhouette cutting it. The form of the figure is soft and matches the tone set by the brushstrokes and colors within the painting. Surrounding drapery and and clothing is blended together with the consistent textures. That same approach and technique of smooth transitions between colors is present in the figures skin and facial hues. The dark colored hair differentiates itself from the rest of the painting with its coloration, but even so it fades out to nothing in the background without heavy outlines.

Overall soft appeal and non-sharp forms are the focus of this painting, and the interpretation of the female form is no exception to contributions to the painting. There is a rounded purpose to the main thresholds of the figure, being upper body and hip shape. Even with the figure turned to its side and the weight of the lower body turning down onto the bed, there is no double hip or indent where the pelvis bone would connect to the legs and their muscles. Although drapery covers most of the figures body, its still painted to hug the shape of the subject and extenuate her gesture.

Impressionism

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Portrait of Gysberti Hodenpyl

Hendrik Jan Wolter

1919

Oil on Canvas

Netherlands

Taking advantage of the warm tones found in the figures body, the surrounding cool blues and greens highlight the reds and magentas found within the figures body. A cross-hatching technique is used for shading and the taut skin textures in stressed areas of the pose. The assortment of colors that are not typically found in the natural body look perfectly natural here. Unlike many Post-Impressionist paintings the anatomical accuracy is well balanced with the brushstroke texture and playfully added alternative colors. Streaks of blatant yellow and green highlight her hair and and even some areas of the figure. Careful attention is payed to the amount of color as it never compromises the accuracy of the model and the details within it.

Post-Impressionism

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Female Nude

Henri Matisse

1907

Oil on Canvas

France

Connecting to paintings that concentrate on individually female characteristics within the body, this painting draws back to wide hips, prominent breasts, as well as a contorted body that alludes to its predecessor paintings of classic female posing. Most of this paintings notoriety is its dedication and exemplary work of Fauvism. The nonsensical profile of limbs and angle differences shows this work is up for debate being of observational origins. And while being from observation is not a requirement for figure work, it leads many to believe it is constructed more of the artists preferences rather than translated interpretation. Texture variations in the background and the surrounding figure opposes the smooth shading and colors of the figure, and slightly changes the depth of the figure within the scene.

Fauvism

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Two Female Nudes

Jean Metzinger

1911

Oil on Canvas

France

A style that branches out from others, the focus of these female figures changes from the artistic norm. The feminine features of these figures are the contrast of negative space and the highlights of back contortions distinguishes itself from other female figure art. Standing upright with still and balanced poses, the two subjects seem to be having a passive conversation. The sensational style and colors appear to be a small part of the painting when shown the mundane and almost normalcy of the two figures interactions. Delicate posing of the hands and weight shifting legs has the two shown in familiar stances. There is an understanding between the two figures that makes them characters in this contextless story.

Cubism

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Birthday

Dorothea tanning

1942

Oil on Canvas

America

While the many things going on in this painting help build the subjects specific allure in the outlandish painting genre, the directional focus is the figures stance and detailing. The specific iteration of the chimera in the corner and the infinite hallways in the background accompany the rootlike wardrobe that has miniature female forms within it. While the artists commentary on the seemingly endless nude female forms in the art world includes this piece itself, the strong posture and body definitions suggest a turning point in pointless female forms. Her back turned shoulders and unwavering expression shows a determinedness to follow the scene of this painting, her form will continue to exist no matter the interpretation in art, and the future of female nudes in art will still be forever changing.

Surrealism

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Concluding Statements

When many think of art, detailed and informed paintings of elegantly posed naked woman often comes to mind. As art has existed since the beginning of humanity, the interpretations of human forms has had an entire evolution cycle to develop. While there is no correct way to distinguish between male and female naked forms through gesture and anatomy, there is no question that there are theoretically infinite ways to do it. Focusing on the female form, certain aesthetics and characteristics shift with the art periods they are created with. As art continues to evolve and change form, the way the nude female form is made will change along with it.

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Sources

“Loss, the Female Nude, and Anna Ancher’s Sorg: A Woman’s Own Modernism.” By: Price, Alice https://union.discover.flvc.org/permalink.jsp?57118804326&ISSN=00365637 “Matisse & the Surrogate Figure” By: Wilkin, Karen https://union.discover.flvc.org/permalink.jsp?57143239943&ISSN=07340222 “Woman and Art Nouveau” By: Derville, Frank http://www.art-nouveau-around-the-world.org/en/women.htm THE MET Museum Gallery https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/436002 “How Rococo Painting Reflects a Change in Ideology” By; Welks, Mirra https://www.invaluable.com/blog/rococo-painting/