Nude Religion Influenced the Artistic

Nude Religion influenced the artistic manifestations of the human kind since its early ages. During the medieval and Renaissance times, the art in the Western world was particularly influenced by religion. The ancient works of art used the nude extensively as an artistic expression. Christianity and Christian philosophers brought new meanings of the concept of nakedness which were reflected in the works of art. According to St.

Augustine, the need to cover their genitalia felt by the first people, Adam and Eve, after having eaten from the tree of goo and evil signified the loss of freedom for the humankind. Humanity became subject to its lust, coming from the uncontrollable desire that replaced the complete freedom of acting upon its own will and not as a result of its urges. Deeply influenced by the teachings and writings of St.

Augustine, the western world started to depict the human body in its naked form only as an expression of the regained freedom from the fleshly uncontrollable instincts. However, figures that are completely nude are rarely to be encountered in the medieval art. Jesus on the cross is among the few figures that were depicted almost naked, displaying only loincloth. When the antiquity was revived during the renaissance period, the nude as an artistic expression regained its value in art.

The process was however subjected to the norms and beliefs of the western society that was deeply influenced by Christianity. Understanding the importance of anatomy, Michelangelo started to study the human body in order to be able to render its beauty in his sculptures and paintings. More and more artists became aware of the role the human body played in their art. The revived examples of the Greeks and the Romans and their depiction of the beauty of the human form influenced the art in the renaissance forever.

The advancement of the sciences and the conquests of the technology made the world of art become aware of new forms of artistic expression. "Artists such as Leonardo are reputed to have dissected bodies in order to understand their musculature better" ("Understanding Paintings," 106).

During the Hellenistic times, by the end of the classical period, the most famous sculptor of all times: Praxiteles, created the nude statue of the goddess Aphrodite which will set a canon for every artist who wanted to express the beauty of the human form in his art that will followed him. Another work of art using nudes was dated as having been created by the end of the Hellenistic period is that of Laocoon Group.

The sculpture was inspired by a legend and it is the depiction of the epic fight between Laoccon, his sons and the snakes. The admiration for the beauty of the human body that can be seen from the sculptures created during the Hellenistic period reflects the attitude the Greeks had toward its reflection in art. Compared to their predecessors, the Greeks appear to be the first to acknowledge the artistic values of the human body, in its bare form.

Kenneth Clark even wrote that "the nude is an art form invented by the Greeks in the fifth century" () Naked children are often depicted in the works of ancient Greeks and one of the examples is a Roman reproduction of a boy strangling a goose. The original model was supposed ha have been created around 150 BC. The.