Would you feel comfortable hanging a famous nude painting in your livingroom?

i just put a mirror above my fireplace and walk around. instant nude painting.

Absolutely. The human body is a beautiful thing. We should be no more ashamed to have a painting of it displayed than a painting of any other animal.

Absolutely, if it was worthy of being in my living room. I’m sure some other people wouldn’t like it though. I have lots of children around and I don’t think the parents would appreciate that….
But in my eyes, I think the human body is beautiful. It’s nothing to be ashamed of.

If I were to hang a nude in broad display in the most used room in my house, I would have to go the whole nine yards and make it floor length.

I’m not that bothered by nudity, and neither will be the kind of people I would be inviting into my house anyway.

I can’t remember where I heard this or how accurate my memory is, but I remember reading about someone who had a gigantic nude painting in his dining room, just so he could watch the uncomfortable looks on his guests while they ate.

no, being a good host means making your visitors comfortable

(also, I wouldn’t be comfortable with it myself)

No

I guess it depends on the painting. I’m not the type of person to be offended by nudity, however. Usually when it comes to decorating, it’s not about pleasing other people for me. I suppose if no one ever wanted to go into the living room because of it, then I would consider removing it.

@petethepothead I bet if this guy exists he’d be a hell of a lot of fun to take to formal balls and exclusive club events.

That’d be fine with me. Although I’d be more apt to hang a nude painting/drawing of myself or my babe :)

of course

No doubt I would, we have a very large canvas piece of a ccompletely tattooed nude as you come up into our apartment, on the wall above the stairs

Sure.
I agree with making guests comfortable, but all my guests are the kind of people who wouldn’t care. And it’s my living room.

@Likeradar that’s what you get for hanging out with Ron Jeremy and Pat Robertson.

in fact I would feel comfortable even if it wasn’t a famous nude so long as it was one I liked

a school friend of mine had a nude painting of him when he was aged about 8 hung above their staircase that his mother had painted, it was actually a really good painting but we all still gave him stick for it, what are mates for after all!

Personally? Probably not. It doesn’t suit my taste or my style.

If someone else had a nude displayed? I suppose it depends on the context. If it suits the decor, if the owner is clearly an art lover, if it is displayed as a form of appreciation rather than for shock value, if it’s not a gathering place for neighborhood kids….... I doubt I would have an issue with it, or even think twice about it.

I just put up a not so famous whimsical nude in my living room.

@Facade

Hanging of nude painting of myself in my living room would probably be the creepiest thing I could ever do.

@eponymoushipster That would be one hell of a dinner party.
Hurm, maybe it it were a nude of Pat Robertson…

@Likeradar brings a whole new meaning to 700 Club

@Ivan Why do you say that?

@Facade

I don’t know. I can’t imagine having guests over with a gigantic picture of my penis hanging on the wall.

@Facade and @Ivan
Ok, here are my thoughts on that. Although I’m comfortable with my body and other people’s bodies, I wouldn’t want my children to see me naked every time they went into the living room. Or anybody for that matter. I think by committing myself to a relationship, only my hubby should see my body that intimately.
Besides, I don’t think my body is the type of ‘perfection’ I would want to have on display in my living area.
@Ivan gigantic picture or gigantic penis? ehh..eh???

I wonder how many of the people who would be comfortable with it don’t have kids?

@Likeradar I am totally comfortable with it and have kids

@Likeradar I think if you expose children to bodies early, by the time they’re jerking off they will recognize the difference between porn and a nude portrait. I definately see what you mean though…

I have several nude drawings in my livingroom along with many other kinds of drawings and a couple paintings (one featuring two women together with breasts exposed.) This doesn’t embarrass me at all, and I’ve never had a guest express discomfort, either.

@Clair I’d be ok with it even if I did have kids, I was just curious about the rest of you. :) Everyone’s got a body, and I see nothing wrong with displaying them when appropriate.

@Clair We won’t be having children, so that’s not a problem. And there will be minimal house guests.

I guess art is art if you like that sort of thing then ok nudes are great if you don’t not for you. Personally I am not too bothered with nude portraits of unknown people but I couldn’t have one of me hanging on the wall I’d be too embarrassed!! ‘amature’ photos on the camera are enough!!

It would really have to be tasteful and something spectacular to even catch my interest. I mean I wouldn’t buy a nude just because it’s a nude. I don’t believe that nudity is obscene, but I do believe it is a personal and private issue, and as someone mentioned above, I don’t know who I would be offending.

@Likeradar I was wondering the same…
@Facade That’s courageous of you! You must have the body of perfection!

Yes. Anyone getting as far as into my home would already be comfortable with that possibility.

@Facade: Good for you if you have your portrait done! I’ve put one off for years but am getting closer to giving in :D

I would put up a nude photo that I took (I’m in school for photography). I would also put up a piece of art, nude or not.

@Clair Nah, but by the time I’m able to do, I hope to be in as good of shape as I can be :)

@Facade You go girl!

No. It isn’t my style at all so it would never happen anyway, but I would feel awkward if I knew my guests were embarrassed.

it can offend some people. and for some clearly it isn’t an issue. what you should put into perspective is how you approach art itself, and whether or not it provokes some kind of meaning enough to you, for you to be able to hang it up on your wall.

Depends on whether it’s tasteful. There is currently a nude painting in my living room, though it’s quite abstract, just the general shape of two people kissing, no photographic details. I have children coming in there all the time, and some of them have giggled, but it’s not really something I’d qualify as inappropriate, even for children. Plus my daughter took a crayon one day and decided to add her own art in a corner.

Sure, why not? It’s a body. What’s so embarrassing about a nude body? Of course, in the flat there’s a coffee table book called “Erotic Art” in the living room, and it’s basically just another book on the coffee table. And there’s been kids here.

I already have this (Madonna by Munch) over my desk, but, I was thinking of adding the Modigliani (on canvas and it’s beautifully done). I didn’t know if the Modigliani was a bit too much.

Whether it would offend guest or not isn’t really a biggie for me. While dealing with my dogs effusive greeting they probably wouldn’t have time to notice a nude on the wall.

But here is the thing for me, I have never thought the human body is so beautiful, well the air brushed photos in mags are pretty glamorous, but in reality, bodies are hunks of flesh with assorted protrusions, sometimes with warts and hair. I have never understood this great beauty thing.

So nope, no nudes for my living room, I do however have some amazing bird carvings (not my own) and outstanding aboriginal art and baskets, korean masks, an Andrew Wyeth print and some paintings and photographs by friends.

This might be better off as a different q entirely, and if I’m threadjacking I apologize.

Why would someone not put up art they like in case it makes their guest uncomfortable? Do you decorate for you, or other people?

I haven’t had any famous nude paintings in my living room (except for a few prints of cherubs that looked like my kids), but I have had several that I did while in art school that have hung in various rooms in my home. My mother did a lot of figure drawing over the years, so there were framed drawings of nudes all over her house. They never bothered any of the grand children, who, in fact, got to pick some out to keep when my parents downsized to a small apartment.

Currently in our living room we even have a hand-carved nude statue from Africa that is quite obviously male. Again, it’s art, not porn, and no one seems to care. If they do, they are keeping it to themselves.

@Likeradar I don’t get that either. If someone doesn’t like what’s in MY house, they can leave.

Ah, fuck it, I’m going to get it. :o)

I have a blown up photo of the Pixies album “Surfer Rosa” up in my bedroom, it’s a very beautiful piece of art.

I wouldn’t have a problem with it. If it is an interesting painting… I’m game.

I have a drawing of erotic male sexual art in my office. Of course, it is a bit risque to put in the living room, but I’m not ashamed of it. I just feel it isn’t suitable for the main room of the house. I don’t find nudity uncomfortable, and since we are all born that way with the exception of the extremist fundamentalist Christians that were probably born fully clothed to hear them talk nudity in pretty much any context is natural.

We have a large painting hanging in our living room. It’s about eight feet long by five feet high. There are many elements in the painting, but one of them is a nude woman, painted in a romance period style. We’ve had the painting for as long as we’ve owned the house, and our children were born into that house and grew up seeing that painting every day.

I don’t remember what age they were when they finally noticed there was a nude in the picture, but their questions were fairly innocuous, and they seemed to accept them, and quickly move onto a more general discussion of the painting.

Many guests will also discuss the painting, but no one has ever expressed shock or discomfort that there is a nude in it. If they feel that, they keep it to themselves. Most people seem more interested in the overall theme of the painting. Another element of the painting is a satyr hanging upside down by a rope from a tree, as if a deer that had been shot and hung up to keep away from predators. The satyr is bleeding into a stream below. It is an element of the picture that is hidden in shadows, and people usually don’t see it at first, but when they do, that generally becomes the focus of conversation. All in all, I’d say that violence and fantasy are much more shocking than nudity.

I wouldn’t be ashamed to hang any famous painting in my home. However, a reproduction of any original art is another matter.

As it happens, I do have a nude (woman from the waist up)in Victorian/Edwardian stained glass in my living room, but you have to look very closely to see her bazooms.

I went ahead and bought the nude. It’s gorgeous and I’m really happy with it. It’s up in my living room now. :)

Famous as in Renaissance or Impressionistic, etc. art or any painting of a famous person?
A famous person or myself or a family member or friend, No. A famous art work…@Clair has it…“if appropriate” and in my living room (as the question was phrased) it would not be appropriate, so, NO. Do what you want in your own.

A famous person or myself or a family member or friend, No. A famous art work…@Clair has it…“if appropriate” and in my living room (as the question was phrased) it would not be appropriate, so, NO. Do what you want in your own.

Actually, it would depend on the artist. I wouldn’t mind a nice little Matisse or even a nice little Rubens, but I don’t think I would want one of Julian Schnabel’s 10 foot by 10 foot nudes on my wall.

I went ahead with the Modigliani and I love it.

Oh, and I already have a few hanging. The Modigliani was just “a little bit more”, though, compared to the others.

Here are the other two. One is Madonna by Munch and the other is done by a local artist/friend.

And, one more (that I have stored away) from my girlfriend who is an artist, as well. I won’t be hanging this one. I think that she did a pretty good job. The last time that she had put charcoal to paper (prior to this drawing) was 10 years ago.

@jmah you didn’t model that, did you?

@eponymoushipster not that, no.

@jmah haha ok. just wondered.

I like the third one you posted J. really shows beauty.

Totally unrelated (to the nude), but, I’m going add a few more photos that will go along side some of my ladies. Louise Brooks, and Joan Crawford (looking hot) before she went all Mommy Dearest on our asses.

@jmah now that’s sexy.

@ABoyNamedBoobs03 aren’t the gorgeous? I’ve got another Louise Brooks that I’d like to add, but, I only need two prints. I want to keep the Joan, but, can’t decide on which Louise Brooks to add. Here’s the other one. Stunning.

I like the first one, both are great though.

Why there hasn’t been an arty biopic of Louise Brooks, I have no idea. She lived a helluva life.

if it’s more of an artistic nude than a porn-y nude of a body, then what’s the problem? everyone’s got one. if my guests are that uncomfortable, they can chill in the kitchen where they won’t see any scary naked bodies~

Nope. KIDDIES

lol, I loved this question.

A nude Picasso….will look a lot different than a nude Botero on your living room wall, for example. One is too abstract to matter and the other is such a bold exagerration of the female form (in all its non-glories it does provoke degree of uncomfortability. It is supposed to do that. My aunt had a Botero in one of her bathrooms and while it is probably a more accurate depiction of a zaftig woman, it’s not one that provokes any sort of compassionate response. It is a bit jarring.

So, I suppose I would put up a nude on my living room wall…if it was a Degas or a Renoir or a Manet or a classical painting…but I wouldn’t put up a Lucien Freud right smack dab center of my living room or over my dining table. I would be afraid the guests would never return.

Well, then again….if it’s company I never want to see again…..hmmm….there’s a thought!

lol

I traded the nude that posted (up in the details section) for this nude.