The Common States of Nudity
a Gallery of Beauty, Humor, Joy, and Love
BE ADVISED: Even in our world of postcards there are elements that may be offensive to some readers. The following article may have content (in the text or the illustrations) that some readers may find objectionable. If so, please accept our apology and go on to the next article.
I was recently told of a doctor’s visit by the person who was the patient. It involved cousins who wished to marry but were related through a common ancestor four generations removed. At the end of a consultation with a genetics specialist the couple was assured by the physician that there are no guarantees in life except the fact that all babies are born naked.
With that piece of sage advice in mind, the staff at Postcard History has spent at least a dozen minutes identifying the varied categories of postcard nudity. We have created the following list: Ancient and Mystic, artistic, comic, occupational, public, social, and fantasy.
Nudity is defined in terms of clothes. Nude. Adj 1. BARE, NAKED, UNCLOTHED. A Nude. Noun. A human figure especially as depicted in art. 2. The condition of being nude such as .
Ancient and Mystic
Left: G. Lorenzo Bernini, Apollo e Dafne. Currently on exhibit at the Borghese in Rome.
Right: Thaleia, the Muse of Comedy. A marble in the Vatican Museum.
Artistic
Left: Delphin Enjolras’s oil on canvas, The Pearls.
Right: Lieber Lowe . . . von Fidus. 1892 copper plate etching of “The Girl and the Lion.” The girl, while bathing, sees the lion in the reeds and runs to say, “Dear lion, don’t run away – don’t be afraid of small, Marion!”
Comic
Left: A Donald McGill comic that shows a little behind.
Right: A Bill Irwyn play on words! Wow, instead of How.
Occupational
Left: From the Paris Salon, Guillaume’s Dancer dressing for the performance.
Right: From the School of Fine Arts, Paris, professional models in the Life classes.
Public
Left: The most visited tourist site is Belgium is the Manneken Pis in Brussels. This classic display of public nudity was put in place in 1619 – 413 years old and he is still …. there!
Right: A Time to Dance in the Gustav Vigeland Sculpture Park, Oslo Norway. The world’s largest sculpture park by one artist. It is a celebration of birth, life, and death.
Social
Left: A north African maiden allows her “curious” friend to visit from afar.
Right: A beautiful young woman prepares “behind the scenes” to meet her lover.
Fantasy
Left: A bevy of red-haired mermaids frolic at the “Wreck of the Seacraft.”
Right: Albert Lynch’s “Summer’s Maiden.”
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As the doctor said, every baby is born naked. And there are many ways to enjoy the result of our birth. Postcard History presents this gallery of nudes as a sample of what has become of us after our common start.
Thank you. I enjoyed this and appreciate the work involved in sort these out.
Wonderful articles… well written and very informative whatever the subject !
I’d love to own some of these cards!
I love the dancing nude statue! A lovely piece.
I liked the scope and beauty of this article.My mom was a greeting card artist at 1 time for PF Volland in Joliet IIlinois.She appreciated the beauty of the human body, but did mostly baby cards, When I was born to her delight. after trying during several years of marriage, she brought me up with the same respect for and appreciation of our bodies. So art school life drawing was no problem for me , Well, an art career for me was not to be. However since marriage in 1955 we have had 10 children of our own. We have… Read more »
Right: A beautiful young woman prepares “behind the scenes” to meet her lover.
These postcards,called: a travers les coulisses, are out of a serie about artists in their dressing room. Not a “romantic” (paid) meeting place . You find actors and actresses in these series. The nude girs are mainly the dancers from the Paris nightclubs like Moulin Rouge, Alcazar, Lido de Paris etc. Indeed a great series to collect.
You are right Ron!
I like the cartoon nude. Its so cute. Interesting cards!