Male Nudes in Art: From Barberini Faun to Eakins' Swimming
A survey of famous male nudes in Western art history, highlighting works from the Barberini Faun to Thomas Eakins' Swimming. The article discusses the rarity of male nudes compared to female nudes, as noted by the Guerrilla Girls' statistic that 85% of nudes in Western art are women. It features the Barberini Faun (c. 220 CE) at the Glyptotek in Munich, acquired by Ludwig I of Bavaria; Michelangelo's ignudo from the Sistine Chapel (1509); Caravaggio's John the Baptist (1602) at the Capitoline Museums in Rome; Rubens' The Drunken Hercules (c. 1611) at the Gemäldegalerie in Dresden; Jacques-Louis David's Male Nude Known As Hector (1778) at the Musée Fabre in Montpellier; Courbet's The Wrestlers (1852-1853) at the Budapest Museum of Fine Arts; and Eakins' Swimming (1885) at the Amon Carter Museum of American Art. The article notes that Eakins was forbidden to use students as models after the painting's publication and later resigned from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts due to sexual scandals.
Key facts
- Guerrilla Girls poster states 85% of nudes in Western art history are of women.
- Barberini Faun (c. 220 CE) is at the Glyptotek in Munich, Germany.
- Ludwig I of Bavaria wanted the Barberini Faun for his new museum of sculpture in Munich.
- Michelangelo's Ignudo (1509) is in the Sistine Chapel, Vatican.
- Caravaggio's John the Baptist (1602) is at the Capitoline Museums in Rome.
- Peter Paul Rubens' The Drunken Hercules (c. 1611) is at the Gemäldegalerie in Dresden, Germany.
- Jacques-Louis David's Male Nude Known As Hector (1778) is at the Musée Fabre in Montpellier, France.
- Gustave Courbet's The Wrestlers (1852-1853) is at the Budapest Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest, Hungary.
- Thomas Eakins' Swimming (1885) is at the Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth, TX, US.
- Eakins was forbidden to use students as models and later resigned from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.
Entities
Artists
- Guerrilla Girls
- Michelangelo
- Caravaggio
- Peter Paul Rubens
- Jacques-Louis David
- Gustave Courbet
- Thomas Eakins
Institutions
- Glyptotek
- Sistine Chapel
- Capitoline Museums
- Gemäldegalerie
- Musée Fabre
- Budapest Museum of Fine Arts
- Amon Carter Museum of American Art
- Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Locations
- Munich
- Germany
- Vatican
- Rome
- Italy
- Dresden
- Montpellier
- France
- Budapest
- Hungary
- Fort Worth
- TX
- US