The session will trace the portrayal of the nude body during the course of History from Classical times through the Renaissance and the Neoclassical to Modern Era.

Beginning with Ancient Greece, whose culture represented the nude as a means of portraying ideals of beauty and nobility, the lecture will go on to discuss the Renaissance world in which classical ideas were revived and developed further to depict the nude figure as a representation of beauty, heroism, knowledge and the high arts of the time.

The Talk will continue to follow the variation of the nude in western art through the Neoclassical and Realism periods which used the nude to chart a variety of new purposes and ideas, and will conclude by reviewing how the 20th century changed perspective on the nude in art as emotional truth overcome physical realism.

An Art documentary will complement the session.

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Artworks/Artists featured include Venus of Willendorf, Venus de Milo, The Birth of Venus by Botticelli, Venus Victrix by Canova, The Turkish Bath by Ingres, Olympia by Manet, The Young Ladies of Avignon by Picasso, The Nude descending the stairs by Duchamp among others.

Talk by Dr. Sian Jay

Documentary by Seventh Art

This art talk and film session is jointly presented by Visual Arts Centre and Corcovado Arts.