It was very challenging to watch, last night, Mary Beard’s film about the possible limits to what might be permissible for artists to depict in their work. On the whole I tend to be pretty permissive about these things, and my principle criterion of acceptability would probably boil down to the serious intentions of there … Read more
It seems that I owe an apology to Mary Beard. On the 11th. I was very critical of her TV discussion of the nude in art, and in particular for her neglect of the important theme of the crucifixion in western art. Of course, I discovered, when I realised that this was only the first … Read more
I guess that I share the same puzzlement as all writers of blogs. Just what is it about a post that will attract and engage readers, and what will pass unnoticed? We all dream of finding the magic words that will ensure attention. I suppose at the same time we all fear that some signal … Read more
For some reason or another we found ourselves watching on TV last night the programme compiled some time ago by the classicist Mary Beard, on the subject of the nude in art. In some ways it was very predictable, with the presenter running out a variant of the John Berger line about the male gaze. … Read more
For some reason that escapes me at the moment, broadcasters have become interested suddenly in the subject of nudity. I mentioned in a recent posting the fact that there is currently a TV series showing in the UK in which viewers are invited to join a televised life-drawing class. In a somewhat different vein, the … Read more