The Nude

The human body, unclothed and on display, has long been the subject of both artists and art historians. But it wasn’t until 1989, when Gill Saunders’s The Nude was first published, that the nude’s evolution in modern art was considered in all its facets. Written in response to Kenneth Clark’s 1956 study of the same name, The Nude offered a new, crucial feminist perspective on nudity in art—and has been cited in nearly every art history book since its publication.

This second edition brings Saunders’s analysis up to the present day. She examines artists’ depictions of nudes and their public reception from classical Greece through the twenty-first century, highlighting the relationship between nudity in art and the rise of feminism, as well as the effects of technological developments in painting and photography. Replete with many lush, full-color illustrations, this second edition will become a staple for students and readers of art history, as well as professional artists.