Earlier this week The Swedish Bed launched a search for the hottest girl in the history of painting. We loved the idea, but when it came time for us to place our vote, the options left us feeling rather uninspired. Not only did most of the women in the selected paintings look too much alike for our taste, but they were also clothed. How not hot is that? To remedy the situation, we’ve collected ten of our favorite nude painted ladies after the jump for your viewing pleasure (as John Berger says, “Nakedness reveals itself. Nudity is placed on display. The nude is condemned to never being naked. Nudity is a form of dress.” ). Drop a link in the comments sharing yours.
Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres, Le Grande Odalisque, 1814. Oil on canvas. Courtesy of the Louvre, Paris, France.
Edouard Manet, Le Déjeuner sur l’herbe (Luncheon on the Grass), 1863. Oil on canvas. 81 x 101 cm. Courtesy of the Musée d’Orsay, Paris.
Edward Munch, Madonna, 1894-95. Oil on canvas. 91 x 70.5 cm. Courtesy of the National Gallery, Oslo.
Edward Degas, After the Bath, Woman Drying her Nape, 1898. Courtesy of Musée d’Orsay, Paris, France.
Paul Gauguin, Two Tahitian Women, 1899. Oil on canvas. 94 x 72.4 cm. Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Gustav Klimt, Danae, 1907. Oil on canvas. 77 x 83 cm. Private collection, Graz.
Henri Matisse, Odalisque with Red Pants, 1921. 65 x 90 cm. Courtesy of Musée Nazional d’Art Modern Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris.
Edward Hopper, Reclining Nude, 1924 – 1927. Originally Watercolor on paper. 35.18 x 50.42 cm.
Lucian Freud, Kate Moss, 2002. Oil on canvas.
Marlene Dumas, Stripper, 1999. Oil on canvas. Stephen White/Courtesy the artist and Frith Street Gallery, London.