There are emblematic nudes in the history of Western art, such as Botticelli's The Birth of Venus, Goya's The Naked Maja, Manet's Olympia, and Klimt's Danaë. Like these, there are many more by Titian, Velázquez, Courbet, Matisse, and Picasso. Over centuries of history, the motivation for painting them has ranged from official commissions to adorn noble spaces to the secret fascination with representations of the erotic, constantly censored in the public sphere. However, their purpose has always been the same: to satisfy a latent desire, to attract the eye, to surprise, and, in many cases, to shock.
