"Enjoy Completely Nude"... Unique Exhibition Viewing Artworks in the Nude

Spain Museum: "Enjoy the Artwork in Its Original Form"
Photo Exhibition of Liace Bronze Statue in Collaboration with Naturalism Club

An exhibition where visitors appreciate artworks in the nude has become a hot topic at a museum in Spain.

On the 30th (local time), the US CNN reported that on the 28th, a 'special exhibition' where visitors viewed artworks without clothes was held at the Museu d'Arqueologia de Catalunya in Barcelona, Spain.

According to the media, this exhibition was co-hosted by a naturism club and the museum. On that day, visitors viewed the 'Riace Bronze Statues Photo Exhibition' in the nude at the Museu d'Arqueologia de Catalunya.

This exhibition is composed to allow viewers to appreciate the anatomical beauty of the human body through large close-up photographs of two bronze statues of naked Greek warriors excavated in Riace, Italy, in 1972. According to the museum, a special tour has been planned to match the purpose of the exhibition.
[Photo by Official Instagram of the Museu d'Arqueologia de Catalunya @macarqueologia]

This exhibition was designed to allow visitors to appreciate the anatomical beauty of the human body through large-scale close-up photographs of two nude Greek warrior bronze statues excavated in Riace, Italy, in 1972. The museum explained that a special tour was planned to match the purpose of the exhibition.

Accordingly, the guide leading the exhibition also appeared before the visitors completely naked to explain the artworks.

Edgard Mestre, who served as the guide for the tour that day, said, "I wanted to plan a more diverse event rather than a typical docent tour. Our commonality with all humanity is ultimately our bodies. I thought that being surrounded by other bodies identical to the statues in the photos would provide an opportunity to fully feel and appreciate the artworks."

The 'Riace Bronze Statues,' which depict nude warriors, were cast around the 5th century BC and were discovered in 1972 by a young Italian chemist, Stefano Mariottini, while diving near the beach of Riace, Calabria. The artworks were named after the beach.

Originally, the statues held shields and swords, but currently, their pupils have disappeared, and their hair has thinned. The primary material used is bronze, but the teeth are made of silver, the corneas of the eyes are made of ivory and marble, and the lips, nipples, and eyebrows are made of copper.

A visitor to the exhibition said, "I was able to better understand that nudity has always existed and that the body should never be a source of shame for anyone."

Nude Viewing Events Often Held During Exhibitions Related to the Human Body

The "Riace Bronzes," sculptures of nude warriors, were cast around the 5th century BC and were discovered in 1972 by a young Italian chemist, Stefano Mariottini, while he was diving near the Riace beach close to Calabria. The name of the artwork was given after the name of the beach.
[Photo by Catalonia Archaeological Museum Official Instagram @macarqueologia]

Meanwhile, this is not the first exhibition where visitors were encouraged to view artworks in the nude. Museums have hosted nude viewing events when exhibiting works related to nudity.

According to The New York Times, nude tours were also conducted at photographer Robert Mapplethorpe’s exhibition held in Montreal, Canada, in 2016, and at the male nude painting exhibition at the Leopold Museum in Vienna, Austria, in 2012.

In some cases, nudity was used to enhance understanding of the artworks and deepen the viewing experience. At an exhibition by artist Stuart Ringholt held at the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia (MCA) in Sydney in 2011, the artist, nude, led visitors through the gallery and provided direct commentary on the artworks.

Visitors were also required to be completely nude. Only adults were allowed to participate in this tour.

Regarding the exhibition, the museum explained, "Just as unnecessary decorations were removed from the exhibition space to guarantee the freedom to view artworks without disturbance, clothing worn by visitors can also be a distracting element, so nudity can be a solution."

Artist Ringholt also said, "I found that viewing geometric abstraction or minimalism artworks in the nude is helpful. When nude, we do not just see colors; we experience them."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.