Heroic Nudity

Heroic Nudity (as explained by Kenneth Clarke in his book The Nude), is a concept to describe the use of nudity in classical sculpture to indicate that a sculpture’s apparently mortal human subject is in fact a hero or semi-divine being.

And how does this concept conflict with the use of nudity or nakedness as a means of torture? Practiced as it was in Abu Ghraib and other US detaining facilities?

The pictures may be uneasy to look at. They were meant to be that way. I wish to allure and challenge the viewer through the beauty of paint.

 

There’s a large version 260 x 400 in the collection of the Museum van Bommel van Dam, Venlo.