Classical perspective of nudity is established from the conviction that the human was a symbol of the harmonious arrangement of the universe as a reflection of God. Christianity reversed this view in response to the theological attitudes toward human fallibility, finitude, and original sin. Renaissance philosophers retrieved and reframed the classical definition as epitomized by Leonardo da Vinci, who identified "Man as the measure of the Universe" and envisioned "The Nude" in his Vitruvian Man. The modern position is predicated on the liberation of "The Nude" from the boundaries of mythology and religion during the Enlightenment, and finds its fullest expression in Gustave Courbet's The Origin of the World.
Nudity is nothing more than a human figure without clothing. There is no overt intention of sexual arousal. When nudity is used in art, it is often with the purpose of eliciting an admiration on the part of the viewer for the handy-work of his Creator. We are, indeed, fearfully and wonderfully made. When an artist shows nudity with this in mind, he is showing it to the praise and glory of the Creator.
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