Reclining nude
The "pose" of the reclining nude is almost as expressive as the nudity itself : a woman gently leaning on her arm, her head supported by a cushion, her hair loose, offers herself up unreservedly to the gaze of the viewer. The mythological nude form has been portrayed in numerous works of art from antiquity to today, which allows us to follow the evolution of society and of man's relationship with his body. The antique models at the origin of our aesthetic awareness influenced the Renaissance artists. These artists completely changed the rules regarding the viewers' gaze upon the naked female form leading to an impressive series of reclining Diana and Venus paintings, and laid the foundation for the contemporary nude characterised by Manet's Olympia three centuries later.
