Painting Naked Women

My uncle Parduman died last year. He is 88 years old. The sad part is that he died unsung and unsung, even though he was a painter of several stands. Sadder is the fact that he left his family at the age of 80 and returned to Mumbai to paint. But he couldn’t rebuild and died lonely. I wish I had been there to help her, but she left ere I came to know about her. My memory of him is of a passionate painter who once took me to nude painting class.

It was a wonderful experience when a nude model posed in front of about 14 artists including 2 girls, as they each sketched them. The nude model has her thighs crossed and I feel like she’s a little self-conscious. But for years I wondered why painters had painted nudes.

Naked and naked

While at our art master’s school Mr Paul took us to a painting exhibition of the famous Russian painter Roerich. What caught my eye was the large painting of nude women adorning the exhibition. Being an amateur painter myself, I sketched one nude of a sleeping woman. Unfortunately, probably lying in the attic of my house.

The charm of painting nude women is indescribable. This was different from a naked woman, who somehow looked a little unpleasant. But the Greeks and our own ancient artists all brought to the fore naked women. Most of the Hindu Goddesses have nude statues in temples, so I wondered what the fuss was all about Hussein’s painting.

Naked woman and beauty

The fact of the matter is that a naked woman is an object of beauty. Therefore a painter will try to capture that beauty. One has to look at Goya, Picasso, and Dali’s paintings to realize this. But remember nude painting is not for voyeurs. They are basically artistic expressions. Maybe at some stage love and sex might also be a part of it, but that’s what tantra and Acharaya Rajneesh have been talking about.

Last word

I for one respect the point of view of the artist. My friend who is an art teacher at the Art School commented ‘See that is just an expression of one’s innermost feelings.’ I will leave it at that time. However, I have one final observation. remember painting nude women is something serious and maybe that’s the reason that all nude paintings never show a woman smiling. Ever thought of that?