Adam: The Male Figure in Art

A fascinating study of the male nude in art : the image which provokes the most powerful of taboos but which has dominated the history of art for centuries. The myth of Adam, the 1st man, is about passing from the unclothed state of innocence to the clothed state of experience. Adam celebrates the male nude in every medium from the idealized beauty of ancient Greek and Roman statues to the perceptions of the male nude in every medium from the idealized beauty of ancient Greek and Roman statues to the perceptions of the male in Western society today. From the upsurge of interest during the time of the renaissance and artists such as Michelangelo and Leonardo to the photography of Robert Maplethorpe and Bruce Weber, the history of the male nude is traced impeccably throughout the ages. In this incisive and witty text Edward Lucie Smith provides a valuable insight into the complex social, political and sexual contexts of the male nude.