The Nude in Art

The human body has long been a subject of artists and art historians. Looking at nude imagery from Classical Greece up until the present day, this course explores the roles of female nudes and male nudes in art.

Is the female nude always an object of desire? Are male nudes always symbols of power? What has conditioned us to believe these notions? Are there artists who challenge the conventional gender roles? We discuss these topics and how the nude reflects the social attitudes of the time.