The Nude Maja

I chose to write a compare and contrast for my final on Titian’s “Venus of Urbino” during the period of Venetian Renaissance and Romantic artist Francisco Goya’s “The Nude Maja”. My major is fashion design, so I was drawn to write about these works of art because these two paintings depicted both females’ sensuality which is probably the most popular subject matter in the western art history for centuries. These two works are particularly important because the “Venus of Urbino” is most often referred to as the origin of the most controversial western art images due to Titian’s audacious portrait of female sensuality. Similarly, Goya’s “The Nude Maja” is famous because she is one of the first displays of female pubic hair in the western art. Both of the works boldly depicted the nudity of the female’s body which caused quite controversy.
Tiziano Vecellio …show more content…
Maja put her arms behind her head; her pubis is the center of the composition. She exposes herself without modesty, Maja’s assertive gaze, a half-smile on her lips indicative of a confident sexuality. Goya used cold light, subtle shadow, and delicate tonal gradation to shape a figure with luminous whiteness in particular, of the breasts and stomach with absolute assurance. Her soft and smooth flesh contrast the crisp brushwork of satin sheet and lace ruffles. Her assertive gaze and her half smile is very expressive, as if she is challenging the viewers in front of her. The dark brown background also emphasized the seductive nude Maja. Through “The Nude Maja” and his other works, Goya demonstrates his unusually keen sensitivity to the emotional lives and social roles of women. His loose line, spontaneous painting technique, expressive color palette and brushwork depicted a woman that is seductive, bold and challenged the norms of representation of its