History of fine art reclining nude
Frances Borzello traces the history of the "reclining nude" painting genre and the oversophisticated sidestepping of the erotic element among critics and artlovers. "The words reclining nude conjure up a vision of voluptuous femininity, a bed with crumpled sheets, and a painter, mind focused, brush alert, making his mark on the canvas. All very sexual, really. Which has always been the problem. Fine art, as we know, is respectable. Sex is not. The reclining nude is where they meet. One of the most fascinating of fine art's spectator sports is watching the rude removed from the nude." Here's Sleeping Venus by Giorgione (circa 1510), which Borzello calls "the figure that launched a thousand reclining nudes."
