A Christian Perspective on Nudity in Art

A Christian Perspective on Nudity in Art
By: Matthew Clark - Article Source from: The Association of Classical & Christian Schools John is a Christian who enjoys the arts and finds them edifying. He is particularly fond of the art of painting. Desiring to expand his art history knowledge, he visits the best, closest art museum he can find. Going from gallery to gallery, John begins to become discouraged and more than a little embarrassed because of all the nudity shown in the paintings. He finds himself wondering if he should leave the museum in a state of disillusioned protest. As a Christian, John understands the need to shun pornography; but what he is seeing is not Hollywood at its X-rated worst, it is Western Civilization. These are the paintings that make up the canon of art. What is he . what are Christians . to do with nudity as it is often shown in art? To answer the overriding question, one must first understand the difference between nudity and pornography. Nudity is nothing more than a human figure without clothing. There is no overt intention of sexual arousal. When nudity is used in art, it is often (but not always) with the goal of eliciting an admiration on the part of the viewer for the handy-work of his Creator. The Greeks believed that man was the measure of all things; as such they sought to find the perfect human form and show it in their art. The resulting nudes are not pornographic; rather, they are the outworking of the Greek ideal. As Christians, we rightly reject their philosophy, but we should not make the mistake of mislabeling their art. There has been much written on the beauty of the human body and it does not need be rehearsed here. It is clear that we are, indeed, fearfully and wonderfully made. When an artist shows nudity with this in mind, he is showing it to the praise and glory of the Creator. Pornography, on the other hand, has sexual arousal as its sole intention. It seeks to debase and lower both its subject, the person