It fascinates, it outrages, it excites and it inspires: the nude. It is one of the oldest and most fascinating motifs in art. The unclothed body offers almost inexhaustible possibilities for depicting people's view of themselves, their ideals, fears and dreams.
The nude is a genre that is constantly reinventing itself to convey social, political and aesthetic concerns. Whether private, historical, intimate or political: a large number of artists have thematized the nude body in their works. The exhibition highlights different ways of interpreting the nude and its art-historical development from the 19th to the 21st century. It takes up themes such as the male view of the naked female body and the question of gender and identity.
Sylvia Sleigh, Paul Rosano, reclining (Paul Rosano Reclining), 1974 Tate. Purchased with the support of the Estate of Sylvia Sleigh 2015, photo and ©: Tate
The works, mainly from the Tate, London, are presented in groups ranging from the historical nude, private and modern nudes and surreal bodies to politically charged and fragile depictions of the naked body. The 90 works are by Auguste Rodin, Francis Bacon, Zanele Muholi, Marlene Dumas, Pablo Picasso, Tracey Emin, Alice Neel and the Guerilla Girls, among others, and will be shown alongside art from the Münster collection by Edvard Munch, August Macke and others.
November 10, 2023 to April 14, 2024
www.lwl-museum-kunst-kultur.de
Lucian Freud, Bei den Lappen stehend (Standing by the Rags), 1988/1989 Tate. Purchased with assistance from the Art Fund, the Friends of the Tate Gallery and anonymous donors 1990 © The Lucian Freud Archive. All Rights Reserved 2023 / Bridgeman Images, Photo: Tate
