Women Paintings Vintage and Modern

Semi naked and fully naked paintings have always appealed. But modern times have shown that the artist's brush is less liberal when it comes to female size.

Some of the earliest paintings discovered have shown images of women, whether depicted as wives, lovers or indeed angels, semi-clad and showing areas of skin that would make most blush.

In history, most painters depicted their women as being buxom in build. Large hips, over sized breasts and even areas that most would consider to be covered up, large masses of hair were also on display. It was what was considered beautiful.

Paintings over a century or more ago also commonly displayed women with long dark hair. Very rarely were women painted sporting long blonde hair or red locks.

The medium used was usually oil. Facial features were strong and the women illustrated commonly wore robes, carefully draped over their contoured bodies and allowing just enough to send men’s pulses racing. Women would secretly appreciate the beauty that is a woman. Let’s face it; women’s bodies are far more attractive than a man’s.

Art holds no boundaries when it comes to painting nudity. The human body, whatever shape or size, is a work of God and that it should be appreciated and d considered art in itself. Greek painters from centuries ago enjoyed displaying men semi-naked or completely without shame. Their penis was on display, even if it wasn’t depicted as pornographic back then, the penis size wasn’t displayed as enormous. If anything, it was illustrated as being average in a flaccid state.

Artists were not afraid to display us in our full glory. Men or women, artists in history would air their brush strokes over what was acceptable and considered healthy and beautiful. However, as we move into more modern times, the majority of semi-naked paintings, especially of beautiful women, display a much leaner look than when compared to paintings of the past.

Years ago, the vision for a healthy woman was medium to large. Men saw women with a strong bone structure, large hips, huge breasts and a rounded backside, to be the type of woman that would bear children and survive. Beauty was depicted by size and the contoured flow of a woman’s skin.

Nowadays, with society driven towards the more modern look of being slim, is primarily down to health issues that surround the size and weight of a person. No longer is large or big considered healthy as science has proven. But the slight looking, gentle curvaceous appeal is compounded by the media urging women that less is more.

In today’s modern paintings, whether oil, water based, acrylic or sculptures, women are now much slighter in build. Breasts are smaller, hips are less dominating and buttocks are slight but shapely. Also, hair is a mixture of colors, ranging across the spectrum. Vaginal hair is also now missing or very little is on display apart from a neatly cut design that is classed as appealing and erotic.

The concept of showing women semi-naked today is indeed very similar as history has proved. The robe or free flowing gowns showing areas of a woman’s body just enough to tease are still there as they were centuries ago.

But with the conformity that women should be seen as being gentler, fragile and slim lined, it appears artists across the world have taken on board the science behind large versus skinny and less brush strokes are apparent.

Either way, art is to be appreciated and whatever shape or size of the woman or man painted, the human body is a master of artwork personified.