Is the total nakedness of a beautiful body always exciting and attractive? Is it art that has taught us to judge women’s and men’s bodies, or is it simply that healthier bodies seem more attractive to us? Does the ideal human body vary according to different periods and fashions or are there invariant factors that stay fixed century after century? Can bodies that are academically considered ugly be interpreted as enchanting? Can the whole of our bodies be represented in painting, sculpture and photography or is it only what these arts have already resolved that seems beautiful to us? Are there postures that are aesthetic and others that are inevitably ugly? Are there parts of our bodies that have been treated well by artists, while others are very problematic? Is there any way of inventing new attractive postures or of representing certain parts of the body that have never been resolved before in an aesthetically pleasing manner?

In this book—which is against nakedness, but not exactly against the nude, as attested by the text and the excellent and meaningful illustrations—do not expect to get a satisfactory answer to these highly complex questions; what you will find is the same questions, but in a rather lengthier form.