Irina Ionesco

Painting and photography must always be understood within the context of their creation and the prevailing spirit of the times. Only then can we judge whether a nude is particularly revealing, provocative, or even obscene – and not only appearing to be so. Our art museums are filled with nude paintings that date back to the Renaissance and Baroque, during which not only the mythological figures of Venus, Eva, Maria, or Lucretia served as models, but also young women from the environment of the painters at the time. Through oil paint on canvas they were transformed into captivating saints or personifications of virtue, according to the visual canon and traditional reception at the time.