Goya categorically refused to do so, opting instead to paint a duplicate with one key difference.

The unapologetic nakedness of the painting’s titular subject was controversial enough that people demanded the artist paint clothing over the figure. This painting, the first of two nearly identical works by Francisco de Goya that take as their subject the unnamed “La Maja” (Spanish slang for a stylish commoner), caused absolute outrage in Spanish society. It isn’t that she is naked and stretched out on a bed - no, it is the attitude of one of her arms and hand.”įrancisco de Goya, “The Naked Maja” (1795–1800) Francisco de Goya, “The Naked Maja” (1797–1800) (image via Wikimedia Commons) It nonetheless raised eyebrows in its time, and even centuries later, Mark Twain was so offended by this painting that he reviewed it thusly in his nonfiction travel account, A Tramp Abroad (1880): “You may look your fill upon the foulest, the vilest, the most obscene picture the world possesses - Titian’s Venus. Ironically, this painting was commissioned to celebrate the marriage of the Duke of Camerino Guidobaldo II della Rovere to Giulia da Varano, and Titian included many symbols of fidelity, like the dog curled at the woman’s feet representing loyalty, the posies in her hand representing love, and the servants in the background looking through her trousseaux, which might symbolize motherhood. Nude women were permitted to recline in mythical landscapes, but in their own bedrooms, this one presented too frank a display of sexuality. But in its time, Titian’s “Venus of Urbino” (1534) caused a great deal of controversy by depicting the titular goddess in an all-too-quotidian setting. If art history is to be believed, the majority of women spent their time either frolicking naked in the woods, bathing naked in streams, or lounging naked around their boudoirs. Titian, “Venus of Urbino” (1534) Titian, “Venus of Urbino” (1534) (image via Wikimedia Commons) Here are some moments of naked controversy in art history. Historically, the nude figure as a subject has been a battleground issue for as long as it’s been a staple of fine art. In our post- Human Centipede era, it takes a lot (arguably, too much) to raise eyebrows, but there have been many twists and turns in the public conversation about what constitutes artistic freedom, especially around depictions of the female body. The art world loves nothing more than nudity or controversy - except, of course, for nudity and controversy. Pierre-Auguste Renoir, “Bather Arranging Her Hair” (1885), oil on canvas, 36 3/16 x 28 3/4 inches (image courtesy the Clark Art Institute)

Classical nudes