Just as there is a fundamental difference in the use of the words "naked" and "nude", the unclothed body can evoke a feeling of delight or shame, serving as a symbol of contradictory concepts -- beauty and indecency. This book is devoted to representations of the nude by great artists from antiquity and the Italian Renaissance to French Impressionism and contemporary art; from Botticelli and Michelangelo to Cézanne, Renoir, Picasso and Botero. This beautifully produced book provides a collection that will appeal to all art lovers.