Museu National D'Art de Catalunya Diving Deeper Into Body Art

The Museu National D'Art de Catalunya was established in 1990 to inspire people to lean into the awareness and knowledge of the culture and history of Spain. The museum has all types of art including romance, gothic, renaissance, modern and baroque . The museum aims to be a museum of society and is open to all people who want to learn, debate and reflect on while enjoying their visit.

One thing that stuck out to many visitors at the museum was the endless paintings and sculptures of naked bodies. Franco, a visitor from California, further discusses his reaction.

“I was shocked honestly,” said Franco, “I didn’t expect this museum to be so open with displaying pictures of nude men and women.”

The True Meaning Behind Nude Art

This painting is called "The Family" and was painted in 1910 by an artist named Ismael Smith.

The representation of the human body seemed to be the major theme throughout art history and it seems to have fascinated many artists and viewers for decades.

Nude art seems to give artists more flexibility to be creative and express the nature of humanity according to Emma, a local Spain resident.

“I think those paintings are breathtaking,” says Emma, “It can be a beautiful thing to contemplate and if the point of art is to convey ideas about the nature of humanity, then it would be natural to expect that the human form would be among the most powerful of those revealing tools.”

The Academy

A group of paintings within the Museu National D'Art de Catalunya are called “The Academy.” The paintings became the perfect example of the staleness of artistic rules that had become as outdated as they were hypocritical.

When walking into the museum, these paintings are the first paintings to the left of the entrance in the Modern art 1 room. It was quite surprising to see these paintings first thing but it struck the interest to learn the deeper meaning behind why there were paintings of naked men and women.

After reading the history, it is made clear that the artist painted these paintings with his subjective truthfulness and made this confrontation the basis of his work. Through these paintings, it is evident that the whole purpose was to embrace the human body that people may have found offensive at the time.

At the time, academic art training was still the basis of the modern artist’s apprenticeship and the nude was drawn from life or copied from photography.

The Shameless Women

Artist Àngel Planells created a lot of different nude art but one that really stood out was “The Shameless Women Piece.”

"The Shameless Woman" was created in 1933 with oil and a canvas by Ángel Planells at age 32. It is now hanging in the Modern Art room in the Museum of the History of Catalonia.

This piece is another representation of the beauty of expressive body art. It goes to show that oftentimes painting a simple human body gives artists the opportunity to be more free and creative.

The diversity in this piece was breathtaking. Not only did this painting embrace body art, but it also had a deeper meaning that Planells incorporated into his work.

As seen in the painting, the woman's left nipple was transformed into a quadrant. The many disturbing symbols seem to hint at a possible reference to breast cancer, although it is a personal interpretation. The hint of disease is shown by the detailed feminine face shape that nibbles at the woman’s shoulder.

This painting leaves space for many different interpretations, along with many of the other paintings that represent body art-- which makes these pieces much more enjoyable in the modern art rooms.

Pompeian Child

The "Pompeian Child" was created in 1879 by the famous artist, Arcadi Mas i Fondevila with oil on canvas.

This piece is another example of the beauty of simplicity in painting the human body and expressing creativity through other aspects of the painting. For example, in this painting, the flowers and town theme adds a lot of detail.

Some people looked disturbed when staring at this painting and when listening to their reactions it seemed to be due to the fact that the painting represented a naked little boy but others seemed quite interested.

A resident of Spain, Emma, further explains her view on this painting after overhearing others speaking about it.

"I don't think this kind of art is offensive... not even this one," says Emma, "When it comes to art, it represents what was popular at the time. You can choose to be offended or you can just be open-minded."

Art continues to evolve but that is the beauty of museums such as the Museu National D'Art de Catalunya. It gives us the opportunity to learn history and reflect on all of the paintings.

Female Nude

This painting is called "Female Nude from Behind." It was painted between 1878 and 1882 by a famous artist named Ramon Martí I Alsina.

This painting was very intriguing because it is simple but detailed at the same time. It was nice to see paintings of all of the different body types. It captured another point of view rather than just the front of a body.

Ramon Martí i Alsina captured reality through this painting and many of his other pieces. The aspect of his creativity, viewed from today’s perspective, makes him unique and brings him closer to the Impressionists.

This painting is called "At the Loggia." It was painted in 1904 by Joan Brull.

The museum continues to embrace nude art with this piece and many others that hang on the museum walls.

The idea of nude art embodies beauty, desire, reverie, and the forbidden. The more that artists painted nude bodies, the more that they became an aesthetic and beauty. On top of the artists representing the subjects on their canvases, the painters created images of the human body with their creativity -- even if it was very personal or went against artistic rules at the time.

Representing the human body has been one of the major themes throughout art history since prehistoric times and the breathtaking museum is honoring this history.