Tom Wesselmann - Great American Nude No. 79, 1965
 




Tom Wesselmann
Great American Nude No. 79, 1965
Copyright
     
  The reclining female figure has been a favorite subject in art ever since the Renaissance. Titian and Giorgione painted Venus, then Manet depicted a bored prostitute by the name of Olympia – bringing heavenly ideals down to the ground of reality. A few successors of these exalted ladies are on view in the exhibition, including Wesselmann’s famous American Nudes. Here Venus has metamorphosed into a luxuriating object of sexual desire, in keeping with the Pop Art aesthetic. As in Titian’s case, the painting medium is unashamedly employed to seduce. Yet Wesselmann’s model, unlike her predecessors, has no eyes. Isn’t it a good thing
we do?
 
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