From Venus to the "Little Faith"
In some encyclopedias on art for some reason it is said that the genre of nu (the image of nudity) appeared in the Renaissance, in the XIV century. In fact, nude bodies began to be depicted much earlier, even before antiquity, which, in fact, the Renaissance was oriented, including in its hobby of "nudity." During the excavation of primeval sites, archaeologists discovered many amazing female figurines, which they called "Paleolithic Venus". These are very stylized images of women with almost no head, but with a huge chest, round belly and lush hips - in short, with all the attributes of a prolific Mother. % Sex for the ancient people was strongly associated with fertility, so it is difficult to say if they found such images exciting - most likely, their "nude" served a completely different purpose, sacred. Hardly thought about sex and the ancient Greeks, exhibiting in the temples and palestras (gymnasiums) statues of muscular gods and athletes. For them, such sculptures were a means of admiring the beauty of a well-built human body. Curiously, the Greeks were more likely to portray beautiful men than women: the canons of the image of the female body developed in Greek art later (this was the right time to create the statue of Venus de Milo). It is hardly the case that in ancient Greece homosexuality was not considered reprehensible - most likely, the masculine nakedness for them was simply more habitual and less immoral than women's, because men in principle were allowed much more (including sexually).
The Christian church, severely condemning nudity, furiously fought against nudity in the paintings of artists of the Renaissance and later times. But nudity in art did not get smaller. For example, in Spain in the time of Goya the Inquisition was strictly forbidden to depict naked people in pictures - and therefore the artist created two lovely portraits that duplicate each other: "Mach dressed" and "Mach naked." Art critics believe that the second image "hid" under the first one, and to contemplate it, it was necessary to open the frame with a special key. An original "pip show" of inquisitorial times. Double standards of morality regarding nudity have been preserved for many centuries. The kings decorated their bedrooms with frivolous paintings, Michelangelo painted naked bodies of the Sistine Chapel, in art schools they were necessarily practicing "nudity" - and at the same time it was considered unacceptable for the "decent woman" to open the decollete slightly deeper than all the others wear. This aroused a special burning interest in the genre of "nude" - an interest close to sexual that they were easily confused. This sensation is familiar to everyone who once looked in the underground video salons "Emmanuelle" and "The Last Tango in Paris", and then stood in lines for tickets to the "Little Faith" - now it can be difficult for us to understand that such "hot" we found in these films, except for actually "nudity" and beautiful, but not very frankly taken off the bed scenes. The fact is that what excites us most is the latent and forbidden, that which is associated with danger. A sense of danger triggers an adrenaline rush that increases sexual arousal. And the mystery prompts the imagination to work to the fullest. The human's main erogenous zone is the brain. Our imagination is the most exciting for us, therefore what is hidden or forbidden has a more pronounced sexual impact. Therefore, total nudity is less sexual than partial exposure. " That is why, by the way, in places where naturists rest, the latter are not constantly in a state of excitement: nakedness for them is familiar and commonplace.
Savages in the Hermitage
At school I had a subject called "World Art Culture", designed to involve students in the masterpieces of world art. However, we did not get very involved in adolescence when we were teenagers, especially boys: pictures and sculptures with nudity (and without it we could not do without studying painting and sculpture), they met with friendly neigh and crooked jokes, tearing the lesson from the lesson. An elderly teacher who really loved art and knew how to talk about it, was sincerely upset, but she could not help it. It was not her fault that the lessons of the world artistic culture were put in the sixth to seventh grades, exactly at the beginning of the puberty period - the time of hormonal outbursts and increased interest in her body, and especially - the body of the opposite sex. Why teenagers, meeting with the masterpieces of art, can die with laughter only because they saw a nude, and sometimes behave in museums like savages? The guilt of educators is only partly - just maturing children are not yet able to cope with their hormonal impulses. Laughing teenagers hide their timidity and self-doubt, demonstrating to peers that sex for them - something familiar, although in fact it is not. In addition, they mask the excitement, which inevitably occurs during the period of youthful hypersexuality at one glance at the naked body. In an older age, this reaction is an exception, not a rule. Here is the answer to the question of whether nu has any relation to sex: it has, but is very mediated. If, of course, we are not talking about pornography, which, with its ultimate goal, causes the onset of sexual arousal. In itself, naked nature, without emphasizing certain parts of the body, without demonstrating close-up genitalia and sexual acts, does not carry sexual coloring, but performs completely different tasks, artistic ones. In the painting, sculpture, photography, nudity acquires a metaphorical meaning: it can demonstrate the fragility and innocence of the character, emphasize his character, express the abstract idea of the artist. The geometry of the human body is unrivaled in nature - it's no surprise that artists and photographers use these lines for statements that have nothing to do with sex. That's why the novels between photographers and models in life arise, much less often than in the pages of books: for the photographer, by and large, there is no difference, to take a bouquet of flowers in a vase or a naked girl, the complexity is only in the nuances of lighting and other professional subtleties.
Spicy archive
Many couples strive to contribute to their sex life in the form of "nudity" where it does not seem to be like: for example, they serve each other breakfast in bed in nude or even walk around the apartment naked all day. However, remember: the constant contemplation of the naked bodies of each other leads to the fact that they are perceived as objects of the situation, as something everyday and familiar, and deprives our imagination of erotic food. Lovers love not only to look at each other naked, but also to imprint themselves in this form in photographs. True, we sometimes find ourselves in a difficult situation: we refuse - we deserve the label "complexed", we agree - and who knows where these photos might turn out to be? Our fears are completely justified. About fifteen years ago the European press had a story about a young Frenchman who, in retaliation for being thrown by a bride, scattered several hundred photos of this girl in a nude, with a phone number, over the city from the plane. Now provocative pictures can be on the Internet or come by e-mail to your boss. And then you have to answer not the question: "Do I want to be nude? "- and on quite another:" Do I trust my partner? "In sex, lovers try, first of all, to give joy to each other, so there is nothing bad in the desire to capture their emotions in a photo or video. The presence of an archive home with such shots suggests that in this pair not only a vibrant sexual life, but also real closeness, spiritual, and not physical, and true trust to each other. Examining such an archive brings health benefits. German researchers found that contemplation of a naked woman's breast by men only a few minutes a day improves the heart's work and normalizes the pressure. Women are silent about women, but, probably, for us admiring well-built naked men is also useful. This benefit is not surprising. Contemplation of the beautiful human body delivers aesthetic pleasure, and it, like any positive emotion, can not but have a positive effect on our health. Aesthetic pleasure and sexual - two related, but different things. The human body is one of the most beautiful creations of nature, therefore to admire them and not to experience excitement at the same time is quite normal. As for the internal prohibition of such admiration, it can testify that you are unhappy with your own body, and constantly compare yourself with those who possess more seductive forms. In any case, you yourself decide how to dispose of your body, whether to open it for photographers and artists - after all, it's only your property, one of the most precious.