The female body is one of the most recurring aspects that have been studied in art both in what are called Fine Arts and in cinema. It has been objectified, desired, sexualized, commodified, and above all, censored. If we open any book on Art History at random, we can observe how, at least on a page, there is a painting of a woman: goddess, aristocrat, prostitute, muse, etc., naked by a man. Why has this stripping of the natural occurred in the West? (Esparza-Martínez de Segalerva, 2021, p.5).
Taine expounded in Philosophy of Art how humans reached perfection in mastering nature by observing the naked bodies of Romans, but time and the imprint of clothing led to Byzantine artists not being experts in this matter and producing works without sentiment. It was about imitating what others had already exercised previously, that is, copying the copy of an artist. This is why they were a living reflection of hieratism, an artistic term used for those artworks that do not express emotion on their faces. One must wonder when the female nude began to be inhibited. With the aforementioned by Hippolyte Taine, it's important to clarify: the only being on Earth who could undress completely was a man. In Ancient Greece, women had virtually no rights (if any at all), so they were even less likely to show themselves unclothed. The mosaics in the Room of the Ten Maidens in the Roman villa of Casale are well known, where women are depicted in bikinis, but unlike their male counterparts, they remain covered when it comes to their breasts and genitals. It seems inaccurate to pinpoint a specific time on the timeline of History to define when the taboo of the female body began. However, John Berger argued that women should be contemplated frequently —a notion born in the Renaissance with the figure of the muse— so here, in its proper measure, we can start seeing the object of desire (Berger, 1972, p.26).
However, an important issue must be addressed or at least a small vision of the evolution of the female body and how everything changes when the creator is a woman. The Bible includes the following quote:
"As soon as they had eaten it, their eyes were opened and they realized that they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together to make coverings for themselves."
Genesis 3:7
In this passage, we extract how after eating the forbidden fruit both Adam and Eve felt shame. Therefore, shame is a consequence of sin. This relates to women as well as to sin, and throughout history, women have been labeled immoral. At the same time, art has also drawn from this, especially with the arrival of the Counter-Reformation where women could only be included individually to reflect them (Roca Muguruza, 2011, p.197). A common example is the representation of Mary Magdalene, as it's important not to forget how for centuries the Church has tarnished her image. It must be noted that nudity and eroticism in a period of sexual repression and the taboo that came with it only served to germinate and construct erotic art. Many sacred works had a certain sensual touch.
In the Renaissance, there was a return to Greek antiquity, and here, especially in Italy, Humanism found its main source. The man, as male, is at the center of the world and everything revolves around him. Looking back at Antiquity consisted of also recovering sources, myths, so nudity focused on and was linked to profane themes capturing the courtly taste of the time. It was in its final stage where it reached its peak opening the way to Baroque.
Although it is contradictory that in a time of full knowledge of the human body, through its postures, exoticism, and the individual man, shame and morality arise. As mentioned earlier, this was due to the already known Council of Trent; where despite Diana bathing remaining one of the most sought-after themes, nudity became a subject of ridicule when it came to the "real" (Val Cubero, 2004, pp. 67). With Baroque, all Renaissance parameters were taken to extremes. Mythological subjects continued benefiting from femininity, being here in this preference for profane and pagan themes where exploration took place; as the presence of these in historical or religious portrait topics was considered indecorous. Nonetheless, while Bernini managed to bring marble to its greatest splendor, making it seem like flesh sinking into it, Rubens was considered the painter of the aesthetic canon of this period par excellence. His fleshy bodies were not only created to emphasize delight but also as a topic of denunciation such as in the Rape of Orithia (c.a. 1620) where it deals with rape and that duality of old versus young.
Concluding with the 19th century, where the French Revolution, industrial advances and new developments captured the political, social, and economic landscape of the time, and above all, the bourgeois taste. Because yes, it was precisely at this moment when the figure of this social stratum emerged. Judith Walkowitz, author of The City of Terrible Passions, mentions an important aspect in all this: bourgeois feminism and how women began to have consciousness about their sexuality. In a century where Victorian fashion, department stores, awareness and realism, universal salons, cabarets, etc., also had their canons regarding women. They could not take nude classes, they were expected to be submissive and subordinate to their husbands, modest with their own bodies. There was no even study of female orgasm as it had been set aside and turned into a taboo. (Val Cubero, 2004, pp. 194-203). Even with all this, women were treated disparagingly, reverting to those religious parameters in which they are reflected as perverse, malicious. Lilith, a Hebrew character, appears as the captain of this thought because she seduced men with her body. The female nude is taken here as a temptation to warn men about being careful around women capable of capturing them. Yes, the archetype of femme fatale that authors like Klimt or Pre-Raphaelites have illustrated so much and which, without going any further, 20th-century cinema has also feasted on endlessly. Just look at figures like Marilyn Monroe, whose body was widely commodified, sexualized, and even defamed.
Bibliography:
Berger, J. (1972). Ways of Seeing. Ways of Seeing _COMPLETO_ by John Berger (comprenderparticipando.com)
Esparza-Martínez de Segalerva, C. (2021). The sexuality of the female nude in Western art. University of Seville.
Roca Muguruza, I. (2011). Gender and sex in confessional spaces during the Counter-Reformation: Women's sins in the "Manual of Confessions and Penitents" by Martín de Azpilcueta. Humanistic Studies, 33, 195. https://doi.org/10.18002/ehf.v0i33.2887
Taine, H. (2000). Philosophy of Art. Toronto.Val Cubero, A (2004). The social perception of the female nude in art (16th-19th centuries): Painting, woman and society. Complutense University of Madrid.
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