"Only before the eyes of God can the human body remain nude and uncovered while fully conserving its splendor and beauty." ~ Pope John Paul II
Is nudity dirty? Nah.
Nudity can sometimes be divine and sacred. In classical art, nudity depicts power, purity or both. You’d see naked gods, saints and martyrs as central figures in paintings and statues. Unabashed by neither vulnerability or divinity. Rating the Louvre as child-UNFRIENDLY attraction, FOR ALL ETERNITY.
Even if the art displayed images of gods. Even if man was created in the image of God. Even if the human flesh is forever sacred.
[Museums, to some of our nudity-sensitive Muslim parents, are another gate to hell, you see?]
For a while, nudity equaled pagan (kafir). And you know where pagans in monotheist religions end up, right? Pagan rituals included deification of the yoni and linga (fertility festivals), partying all summer (Bacchus’ rituals), and – yeah – visiting museums to admire statutes and paintings (icon worship).
Avoiding the Pagan Stamp of Approval was one of the reason why the monotheist woman is covered from head to toe. Why the good Muslim, Christian and Jewish does not worship in the nude. Why Bernini dressed St.Therese’s Ecstasy and the Ludovica in marble habits, despite their inarguable piety. Partially because they wanted the church to be child-friendly.
I think it’s more because we are SO SEXUALLY REPRESSED TO KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CARNAL AND RELIGIOUS ECSTASIES.
Then again, is there anything more tempting than a woman shrouded under veils of loyalty, piety and modesty?
Have you noticed, the allure that streaks the pious woman’s worship tempts both divine and earthbound? The purer she is, the sexier she gets in the eyes of man, demon and angel.
Hence, to have the religious monotheist woman walking around naked, would cause more traffic accidents than sustainable worship.
After all, worship is the safest place to bare our souls and selves, naked.
With our imperfections observed. And mortality honored.
3 afterthinkers:
well Hning,from what I remember in teaching my previous art classes, the ancient Greeks thought that the human form was the most beautiful creation, and they celebrated that through their statues. But they had some specimens of female statuary that were draped because they were intended to portray "pious women".
I wouldn't consider the Louvre as child-unfriendly. Especially when the female nudes sensibly show more fat than the present day anorexic stick figures we see walking the streets today!
I was talking based on personal experience. My sexuality-shy parents would immediately change the channel on every romantic scene on TV. That's also the reason why my parents skipped ALL the museums when they visited Europe.
Here's the result: Nudity obsessed, unconventional-living daughter. Hohoho...
I think the sexual-revolution skipped our muslim parents' generation. Try saying that pious woman on that priceless painting is covered, they'd probably respond "draped in clumsy fabric my ass, that is still NAKED!"
And yeah, I agree with you about healthy looking nudes in those paintings. It's a shame that modern nude photography is missing valoptous women as models and central figures.
Which reminds me, how about modeling for me, Coral?
hmmm, I'll think about it----after I try to do something about my stretch marks!!!
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