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Nude Paintings For Sale
A Fabulous 1950s Mid-Century Modern Seated Female Nude by Francis Chapin
Located in Chicago, IL
A Fabulous, 1950s Mid-Century Modern Studio Interior Scene of a Seated Female Nude Model by Famed Chicago Artist, Francis Chapin (Am. 1899-1965). Completed in the vibrant, Fauvist, ...
Category

Mid-20th Century American Modern Nude Paintings

Materials

Masonite, Oil

Nude Female Study Posed On The Grass Mid Century French Painting
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Artist/ School: Suzanne Dinkés (French, 1895 - 1984) Medium: oil on board, unframed Size : 25 x 21 inches Provenance: private collection, France Condition: The painting is in overall...
Category

Mid-20th Century Post-Impressionist Nude Paintings

Materials

Oil

Huge 1700 s Florentine Old Master Oil Painting Eros Triumph over Pan Male Nudes
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
The Triumph of Eros over Pan Florentine School, early 1700's period, unsigned oil on canvas, framed framed: 58 x 48.5 inches canvas: 50 x 40 inches Provenance: private collection, Pa...
Category

Early 18th Century Old Masters Nude Paintings

Materials

Oil

19th Century Neoclassical Scene - Psyche, Oil on Canvas
Located in Stockholm, SE
In this neoclassical oil on canvas signed and dated “Otto Bache 1864”, the artist depicts Psyche standing with her back turned to the viewer beside a red draped table. Her hair is arranged in a tight knot, secured with a hairpin adorned with two large pearls. She holds a light drapery that covers her legs, while the rest of her body remains nude. With her head turned toward the right, she gazes downward toward the table, where a blue gown or drapery lies, the garment she is about to put on. Her softly illuminated profile emerges as she turns in the light falling from the upper left, creating a striking backlight that heightens the contrast along the contours of her body. On the richly red draped table before her rest her jewellery and, to her left, a large amphora-shaped jug and a tazza bowl. The light descending from above to the left defines the composition with sharp contrasts between brightness and shadow, revealing the delicate modelling of Psyche’s form and lending the scene a quiet sense of introspection and grace. Exhibited: Winkel & Magnussen October 1915 no. 5, ill. p. 5. Otto Bache was born in 1839 in Roskilde, Denmark, and died in 1927 in Copenhagen. At the age of only eleven he was admitted to the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen where he studied drawing and painting under the supervision of artists such as Wilhelm Marstrand. His early training gave him a basis in the Danish “Golden Age” tradition of realism and naturalism, but he went on to travel and extend his horizons. In 1866 he received an Academy travel-scholarship and went to Paris, then Italy (1867–68). The influence of Paris is often noted: his palette became richer, his handling freer, his light stronger, and his subjects broader. Later in his career, from around 1887, he held the post as professor and on various occasions director of the Royal Danish Academy. Bache’s early work reflects his rigorous academic training: careful drawing, subdued palette and interest in genre scenes and rural life. After his travel in Paris and Italy he adopted a somewhat more robust handling of color and light, but still remained essentially realist and narrative in approach. He painted portraits, animal and hunting subjects, genre scenes, and large history-paintings depicting key moments from Danish history. In particular, during the 1880s and 1890s when he was commissioned to execute large history canvases for the Museum of National History at Frederiksborg Castle and similar institutions, depicting events such as the exploits of Danish soldiers...
Category

1860s Other Art Style Nude Paintings

Materials

Oil

Antique nude woman oil painting post impressionist female nude by Yves Diey
Located in AIGNAN, FR
Vintage nude oil painting by French artist Yves Diey. This oil on canvas portrait of a woman in Chinese Pyjamas is a typical example of Dieÿ...
Category

1950s Post-Impressionist Nude Paintings

Materials

Oil

Fine Early 20th Century Figurative Male Nude Study - English Oil Painting
Located in Cirencester, GB
ARTIST: John Nicolson RBA RSW (1891-1951) British TITLE: "Male Nude In The Studio" MEDIUM: oil on canvas laid to board SIZE: 48cm x 37cm incl frame CONDITION: very good NOTES: Bor...
Category

Early 20th Century Post-Impressionist Nude Paintings

Materials

Oil

Large Nude Oil Painting, Vintage Female Reclining Nude, Post-Impressionist Nude
Located in AIGNAN, FR
Large Nude, Female Nude, Large Nude Portrait, Original Oil Painting, Vintage Oil Painting, Large 1960's female reclining nude by renown French artist, Georges Pierre Guinegault (18...
Category

1960s Post-Impressionist Nude Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Female Nude, The Artist s Wife, Femme Nue
Located in Cotignac, FR
Female nude, mid century oil painting of the artist's wife by Georges Gonthier. Though not signed it is extensively annotated to the back board with subject, artist and dedication. P...
Category

Mid-20th Century Modern Nude Paintings

Materials

Oil

Colourful Large Female Nude, Femme Nue Allongée
Located in Cotignac, FR
Colourful, large oil on canvas female nude by Isabelle Pardoe. The painting is not signed but came directly from the atelier of the artist. Isabell Pardoe trained at the Slade scho...
Category

Late 20th Century Modern Nude Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil, Acrylic

Man and the Machines #5 Paula Craioveanu oil/canvas Neo Mythology FRAMED
Located in Forest Hills, NY
“Man and the Machines #5”, 80x60cm, acrylic on canvas from the same series of Neo-Mythology paintings. Young male deity placed in an industrial modern space. It reflects passing of ...
Category

2010s Post-Modern Nude Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Female Nude oil on canvas painting
Located in Sitges, Barcelona
Title: Female Nude Artist: Francisco Ribera Gómez (Madrid, 1907 – Málaga, 1990) Date: 1966 (signed and dated in Roman numerals: MCMLXVI) Medium: Oil on canvas Dimensions: 100 × 81 cm...
Category

1960s Academic Nude Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Reclining Nude oil on canvas painting woman
Located in Sitges, Barcelona
Title: Reclining Nude Artist: Roser Vinardell Tolrà (Cabrera de Mar, 1941) Technique: Oil on canvas Dimensions: 46 x 65 cm (18.1 x 25.6 in) Date: 1970s Signature: Signed in the lower...
Category

1970s Impressionist Nude Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Antique man nude oil painting 1920 s portrait of a man in a thong impressionist
Located in AIGNAN, FR
Captivating antique man in a thong signed and dated impressionist oil painting on canvas. Atmospheric vintage almost nude portrait oil painting of a man standing. A man stands in a ...
Category

1920s French School Nude Paintings

Materials

Oil

A nude - Realistic oil painting, Warm tones, Young Polish artist
Located in Warsaw, PL
AGNIESZKA STAAK-JANCZARSKA (born in 1994) A graduate of the State Secondary School of Art of Józef Kluza in Krakow. In 2020, she graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow in ...
Category

2010s Naturalistic Nude Paintings

Materials

Oil, Cardboard

Sentada Desnuda, Surreal Painting of a Seated Nude Woman, Mexican Artist
Located in Beachwood, OH
Guillermo Meza (Mexican, 1917-1997) Sentada Desnuda, 1941 Oil on canvas Signed and dated lower right 23.5 in. h. x 19.5 in. w. 31 in. h. x 27 in. w., as framed He was born in México...
Category

1940s Surrealist Nude Paintings

Materials

Oil

Antique Italian Large Figurative Framed Oil Painting of a Reclining Nude Woman
Located in Douglas Manor, NY
5154 Antique Italian oil painting of a reclining nude woman Framed Image size 24x36"
Category

1930s Nude Paintings

Materials

Oil

Charles PICART LE DOUX, Model on Green Background, Oil on Isorel, 1949
Located in Saint Amans des cots, FR
Oil on isorel panel by Charles PICART LE DOUX (1881-1959), France, 1949. Model on green background. With frame: 97.5x76.5 cm - 38.4x30.1 inches ; without frame: 81x60cm - 31.9x23.6 i...
Category

1930s Post-Impressionist Nude Paintings

Materials

Oil

The water sings because it flows Anna-Carien Goosen - Contemporary oil painting
Located in DE
A portrait of peace, but not the polished kind. This painting is dedicated to those neither wholly domestic nor wholly wild—the ones comfortable in their skin, the ones who can remai...
Category

2010s Contemporary Nude Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Nude, Oil on Canvas by B.Robert, Ca. 1930
Located in Saint Amans des cots, FR
Oil on Canvas by B. Robert, France, circa 1930. This exquisite oil painting by B. Robert, created in France around 1930, captures the serene beauty of a young nude woman reclining. T...
Category

1930s Art Deco Nude Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Torso 02 - Contemporary Figurative Ink Painting, New Expressionism
Located in Salzburg, AT
The artwork on paper will be sent unframed to you. Maciej Olekszy was born in 1982, Poland. Graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Poznan, Poland in 2007. Faculty of Painting i...
Category

2010s Contemporary Nude Paintings

Materials

Paper, Ink

Bathing Nudes in Landscape, French Vintage Figurative Oil Painting
Located in AIGNAN, FR
Landscape with nudes, vintage oil painting of bathing nudes in a landscape by French artist Jean Chevauchet (b.1937). An unusual and interesting almost dreamlike or indeeed Symbolis...
Category

1970s French School Nude Paintings

Materials

Oil

Mid 20th Century French Modernist Cubist Oil Painting Female Nude Artists Model
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
The Artists Model, female nude reclining in chair by Laure Noetzin-Azam (French 1929-2024) pupil of André LHOTE oil on canvas, unframed canvas: 29 x 29 inches Provenance: all the pai...
Category

Mid-20th Century Cubist Nude Paintings

Materials

Oil

Nude, oil painting, impressionistic, live model. Nudes across mediums
Located in Oslo, NO
This intimate oil painting captures a moment of quiet rest and vulnerability. Painted alla prima, the artist works swiftly and expressively, allowing brushstrokes to remain visible a...
Category

2010s Impressionist Nude Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Andromeda Monster Carracci Paint 17th Century Oil on canvas Old master Italy Art
Located in Riva del Garda, IT
Agostino Carracci (1557-1602) Circle of Andromeda and the Sea Monster Oil on canvas 75 x 59 cm. - In frame 96 x 77 cm. The subject of the painting, derived from Ovid's Metamo...
Category

17th Century Old Masters Nude Paintings

Materials

Oil

Children Bathing by a Rocky Shore, Skagen, 1892
Located in Stockholm, SE
Paul Graf (1866–1903), Swedish Children Bathing by a Rocky Shore, 1892 signed Graf and indistinctly dated 1892 oil on canvas mounted on panel unframed 139 × 175 cm (54.7 × 68.9 in)...
Category

1890s Post-Impressionist Nude Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil, Board

Happy, Nude, Contemporary art, Figurative, Original oil Painting, One of a Kind
Located in Granada Hills, CA
Artist: Varvarov Anatoly Viktorovich Title: Happy, Sise: 53x43.5 inches, (135x110 cm) Medium: Oil on Canvas Hand painted, original, one of a kind. Looking at the "Happy" oil paintin...
Category

2010s Photorealist Nude Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Nude Woman, Figurative, Original Oil Painting, Handmade Artwork, One of a Kind
Located in Granada Hills, CA
Artist: Ashot Muradyan Work: Original Painting, Handmade Artwork, One of a Kind Medium: Oil on Linen Year: 2022 Style: Impressionism, Subject: Nude Wo...
Category

2010s Impressionist Nude Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Nude Woman, Original Oil Painting, Handmade Artwork, One of a Kind
Located in Granada Hills, CA
Artist: Ashot Muradyan Work: Original Painting, Handmade Artwork, One of a Kind Medium: Oil on Linen Year: 2022 Style: Impressionism, Subject: Nude Wo...
Category

2010s Impressionist Nude Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Reclining Nude , Paris, Louvre, Salon d Automne, Acad. Chaumière, LACMA, SFAA
Located in Santa Cruz, CA
'Reclining Nude', Paris, Louvre, Salon d'Automne, Acad. Chaumière, LACMA, SFAA ------ Painted circa 1955 by Victor Di Gesu (American, 1914-1988) and stamped verso with Victor di Ges...
Category

1950s Post-Impressionist Nude Paintings

Materials

Paper, Oil

"Nu" Impressionist Interior Seated Nude Female Figure Oil Painting on Canvas
Located in New York, NY
A Mid-20th Century charming oil painting depicting a seated nude woman in a whimsical interior scene, Ducaire was known for her charming intimate figurative scenes portraying female ...
Category

Mid-20th Century Post-Impressionist Nude Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Circa 1800 French Neo-Classical Study of Male Nude Standing Academic Pose
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Nude Male Study French, circa 1800 Neo-Classical School, circle of Jacques Louis David (French 1748-1825) Pencil drawing on paper, unframed drawing: 14 x 8 inches double sided with ...
Category

Early 19th Century French School Nude Paintings

Materials

Charcoal, Pencil

"Wood Nymph" (2018) By John Tarantola, Nude Oil Portrait Painting
Located in Denver, CO
John Tarantola's original nude portrait "Wood Nymph" (2018) is a beautiful realist painting done with oil on panel, which depicts an athletic nude male figure standing in a forest, p...
Category

2010s Realist Nude Paintings

Materials

Oil, Panel

English 1970 s OIL PAINTING Female Nude In An Interior by FRANK JOHNSON
Located in Cirencester, GB
ARTIST: Frank Johnson (1917-1998) British TITLE: "Female Nude In A Living Room Interior' SIGNED: unsigned, from the artists studio sale at Bonhams Chest...
Category

Mid-20th Century Post-Impressionist Nude Paintings

Materials

Oil

Follower of Roderic O Connor, Female nude in an interior, large oil painting
Located in Harkstead, GB
A very striking and stylishly painted oil of a shapely nude reclining on a draped sofa, dating from the early to mid 20th century . This large scale oil is presented in an attractive...
Category

Mid-20th Century Modern Nude Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

French Expressive Charcoal Sketch of a Standing Nude Figure
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Standing Nude Figure black pen drawing on artist paper painting: 13.75 x 9 inches provenance: private collection, England condition: very good and sound condition
Category

20th Century Impressionist Nude Paintings

Materials

Ballpoint Pen

Nude woman oil on canvas painting portrait
Located in Sitges, Barcelona
Joan Palet (1911 - 1996) - Nude - Oil on canvas Oil measures 65x81 cm. Frameless. Joan Palet was born in Barcelona on March 28, 1911 in a family of sculptors and wood carvers. He b...
Category

1970s Impressionist Nude Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Bernard Myers (1925-2007) - 20th Century Oil, Nude VI
Located in Corsham, GB
A sensitive life study in oil by the artist Bernard Myers (1925-2007), with areas of thick impasto. Signed verso. On paper.
Category

20th Century Nude Paintings

Materials

Oil

French Surrealist Oil Winged Cherubs Flying through Clouds
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Winged Cherubs French School, contemporary oil on canvas, unframed canvas: 8 x 8 inches provenance: private collection, Paris condition: very good and sound condition
Category

Late 20th Century Modern Nude Paintings

Materials

Oil

Huge 1950 s French Modernist Oil Mythological Pink Nudes on Rocky Coastline
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
"Naiades" French Modernist artist, circa 1950's The work is faintly monogrammed to the lower corner though hard to tell. There is a name verso but illegible - possibly the artist or ...
Category

Mid-20th Century Modern Nude Paintings

Materials

Oil

Josef Dobrowsky (1889-1964) - Framed Mid 20th Century Oil, Nu Allounge
By Josef Dobrowsky
Located in Corsham, GB
A striking oil painting by Josef Dobrowsky (1889-1964) depicting a reclining female figure resting gracefully upon a luxurious white fur throw. Presented in a decorative gilt-effect ...
Category

20th Century Nude Paintings

Materials

Oil

Birchina- 21st Century painting of a nude woman laying.
Located in Nuenen, Noord Brabant
Daniela Astone Birchina 50 x 60 cm Oil on canvas The painting is framed ( frame included in price ) Daniela Astone works and lives in Florence. For years she was a teacher on the f...
Category

2010s Contemporary Nude Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

"Heartstrings" by Jon Wassom - Mixed Media Figurative Painting, 2024
Located in Denver, CO
Jon Wassom’s "Heartstrings" is an evocative mixed media painting on panel, measuring 16 x 16 inches. This striking composition explores themes of intimacy, emotion, and human connect...
Category

2010s Contemporary Nude Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Mixed Media

Nude. Figurative and abstract acrylic painting, Body, Polish artist
Located in Warsaw, PL
Contemporary acrylic on canvas painting depicting a nude by Polish artist Michal Bajsarowicz. The artwork is an artistic take on human body with abstract elements. Composition is ske...
Category

2010s Contemporary Nude Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Reclining Nude en Plein Aire
Located in London, GB
'Reclining Nude en Plein Aire', gouache on art paper, by Raymond Debiève (circa 1960s). The reclining figure is one of the most popular poses in art history...
Category

1960s Modern Nude Paintings

Materials

Gouache, Paper

Anatomy Lesson, Segment 10 (Small Figure Painting of Two Muscular Nude Males)
Located in Hudson, NY
Anatomy Lesson, Segment 10 (modern figurative oil painting of two nude men from upper thigh to chest) by Robert Goldstrom 2024 oil on linen 12 x 12 inches signed and in excellent con...
Category

2010s Contemporary Nude Paintings

Materials

Linen, Oil

Two male Nudes. Painting.Pastel, carbon pencil, ink on archival paper mounted
Located in Miami Beach, FL
Drawing on paper is his basic work tool, some are sketches of his surviving works, others are sketches of moments he documents. Undefined by medium, Celso Castro’s works each carry the presence of the artist’s hand through the transparency of their process. Castro’s oeuvre is strongly divided between his photomontage assemblies and watercolor paintings: the prior is marked by the labor-intensive deconstruction of portrait photographs and the latter, by the seemingly frenzied recreation of a past encounter rendered in the drips and scribbles of paint and ink. Both discriminating in what they reveal of the subject, his photomontage and watercolor portraits exude raw sexuality through the combination of Castro’s mark-making and gaze. Celso Castro’s work is a bare-bulb erotic photo foray into the underbelly of Colombia’s drug world. Castro’s labor-intensive, photo-collage works of drug kingpins, smugglers, hitmen, countrymen, street vendors, soldiers, paramilitaries, kidnappers, and pimps pose showing with pride their erect penises...
Category

2010s Contemporary Nude Paintings

Materials

Carbon Pencil, Paper, Pastel, Ink

Huge 18th Century French Rococo Old Master Oil Allegorical Nude Winged Lady
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
The Allegorical Winged Nude Lady, adorned with the attributes of Spring French School, 18th century (Rococo period) oil painting on canvas, unframed canvas: 30 x 52 inches provenance...
Category

18th Century Rococo Nude Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Suggestive Nude of a Woman oil on canvas painting
Located in Sitges, Barcelona
Technical Sheet Title: "Suggestive Nude of a Woman" Artist: Rosendo González Carbonell (1910-1985) Technique: Oil on canvas Dimensions: 36.2...
Category

1970s Impressionist Nude Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Nude woman oil on canvas painting nude
Located in Sitges, Barcelona
Title: Eve’s Spiral Artist: Nerea Caos (Ferrol, Spain, 1993) Medium: Oil on canvas Dimensions: 50 × 40 cm 19.7 × 15.7 in Framing: Unframed Period: Contemporary (ca. 2020s) Signatur...
Category

2010s Abstract Expressionist Nude Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

A Fabulous, Abstract 1960s Mid-Century Modern Painting of a Sleeping Female Nude
Located in Chicago, IL
A Fabulous, Abstract 1960s Mid-Century Modern Painting of a Sleeping Female Nude by Noted Chicago Artist, Rudolph Pen. A sensuous, intimate studio depiction of a sleeping nude femal...
Category

Mid-20th Century American Modern Nude Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

The Origin - Contemporary Expressive, Figurative Oil Painting, Male Nude Series
Located in Salzburg, AT
This work is framed. Unframed size: 70x80 cm, framed 75x85 cm Bartosz Kolata was born in Torun, Poland in 1979. In 2006 he graduated in Art Conservation and Restoration from Nicolas...
Category

2010s Contemporary Nude Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Asleep Model - Original oil on canvas - Signed
Located in Paris, IDF
Claude Gaveau Asleep Model, 1975 Original oil on canvas Signed in the lower right corner Signed again on the back On canvas 60 x 73 cm (c. 24 x 29 in) Very good condition
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Modern Nude Paintings

Materials

Oil

Fine Antique Classical Nude Draped in Robes Dancing with Dog Gold Background
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Artist/ School: Italian School, 19th century Title: Classical nude draped in robes with dancing dog. The work looks as though it might have been a ceiling...
Category

19th Century Old Masters Nude Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Mid Century French Nude Painting Of A Lady Stood Posed
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Nude Lady by Josine Vignon (French 1922-2022) oil on thin board, unframed board: 27 x 15 inches good condition with some cracks shown in photos provenance: from the artists estate, ...
Category

Mid-20th Century Post-Impressionist Nude Paintings

Materials

Oil

Mid Century Abstract Nude Oil on Canvas Painting by Edith Ferullo
By Edith E. Ferullo
Located in Atlanta, GA
Original Mid-Century oil on canvas composition by American Artist Edith E. Ferullo (1928 - 2008). The painting features a thick textured abstract nude subject. The brutalist artwork ...
Category

1960s Abstract Expressionist Nude Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic, Gouache

Stevey - 1990 Oil, Female Nude
Located in Corsham, GB
A fine contemporary oil nude study showing a female nude, reclining on a green bed. The artist has signed and dated in the lower right corner. On board. Image size: 30.5 x 25cm.
Category

20th Century Nude Paintings

Materials

Oil

Reclining Nude Lady Model 1970 s French Modernist Painting Provence Collection
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
The Artists Model Portrait of a Nude Lady reclining French School, circa 1970's indistinctly signed oil painting on card, unframed size: 18 x 26 inches condition: overall very good,...
Category

1970s Impressionist Nude Paintings

Materials

Oil

"Paradox" Nude Woman Wearing Lipstick and Red Cloak
Located in Philadelphia, PA
This female nude piece titled "Paradox" is an original artwork made from oil on panel by Lauren Rinaldi. This piece measures 24”h x 18”w. Lauren Rinaldi (b. 1983, Brooklyn, NY) is a...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Nude Paintings

Materials

Oil, Panel

Stuart Denyer NEAC - large English original STUDIO NUDE Oil Painting R.A. LONDON
Located in Cirencester, GB
ARTIST: Stuart Denyer NEAC (1953-) British TITLE: "The Studio At The Royal Academy London" SIGNED: lower right and dated 1981 MEASURES: 120cm x 89cm inclusive of frame CONDITION...
Category

Late 20th Century Post-Impressionist Nude Paintings

Materials

Oil

"Stillness" - Oil Painting of Nude Female Figure by Matt Talbert
Located in Denver, CO
Matt Talbert's "Stillness" (2024) is an oil painting on linen, measuring 21 x 14 inches (53.34 x 35.56 cm). The unframed artwork features a nude female figure seated beside a window,...
Category

2010s Realist Nude Paintings

Materials

Oil, Panel

Shop Antique and Vintage Nude Paintings

Today, antique and vintage nude paintings are popular works of art to consider when decorating your home.

The nude as an artist’s subject gained prominence in ancient Greece, wherein male nudes were rendered equivalent to power and victory owing to the Greeks’ celebration of men in athletic events as well as in the worship of the gods who populate Greek mythology. Nude sculptures in Greece positioned men as warriors — strong, moral and fearless. The naked female figures featured in prehistoric art and the art of ancient civilizations, on the other hand, were symbols of fertility and procreation.

Italian painters of the 1400s looked to the magnificent nude sculptures of Greek and Roman art for inspiration. By the end of the century, drawing of undressed models was part of the common practice for these artists. When Christianity had spread through Europe, however, Christians condemned Renaissance nude paintings — most of which are considered famous nude paintings today — because they were erotic, exploring, in some cases, same-sex relationships as well as women’s sexual power. Censorship was the order of the day, except for religious-themed works, such as 1526’s iconic Adam and Eve, an oil painting made by German Renaissance painter Lucas Cranach the Elder, one of more than 50 works made in his workshop based on the biblical story. Tuscan painter Daniele da Volterra was famously hired to paint fig leaves over the most exposed figures of Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel. While freedom of expression for artists has expanded significantly since then, prudish censorship persists when it comes to Renaissance nudity.

On 1stDibs, find a wide variety of authentic antique and vintage nude paintings, from works focused on the reliably reclining figures of Impressionist-style art to oil paintings created by contemporary artists who often work to reject the idealized human forms and unrealistic depictions of female nudes that preceded them. Additionally, find a primer on 1stDibs on how to arrange wall art as well as tips on creating salon-style gallery walls for presenting the wonderfully provocative nude paintings you’ve decided to bring into your home.

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