Jullien, François,  1951- <br/><br/>
The impossible nude :  Chinese art and western aesthetics / 
by François Jullien ; translated by Maev de la Guardia ; with photographs by Ralph Gibson. 
 - vii, 136 pages :  illustrations (some colour) ;  22 cm 
<br/><br/> Translated from the French. 
<br/><br/>Includes bibliographical references (pages 133-134). 
<br/><br/>Preface -- A history of being : for an ontology of the photographic nude -- The impossible nude. 
<br/><br/> The undraped human form is ubiquitous in Western art and even appears in the art of India and Japan. Only in China, François Jullien argues, is the nude completely absent. In this enthralling extended essay, he explores the different conceptions of the human body that underlie this provocative disparity. Contrasting nakedness (which implies a diminished state) with nudity (which represents a complete presence), Jullien explores the traditional European vision of the nude as a fixed point of fusion where form joins truth. He then shows that the absence of the nude in Chinese art evinces an understanding of the human body as changeable and transitory. Viewed in light of each other, these differing concepts allow for a new way of thinking about form, the ideal, and beauty, enabling us to delve deeper into the relationship between art and the ideas that lie at its roots. Beautifully illustrated and gracefully translated into English for the first time, The Impossible Nude will fascinate anyone interested in art history, Chinese art, or aesthetics. 
<br/><br/><br/>Translated from the French. 
<br/><br/><label>ISBN: </label>0226415325 9780226415321 
<br/><br/><label>LCCN: </label>2006011163 
<br/><br/><label>Subjects--Topical Terms: </label><br/>Nudity.<br/>Photography of the nude.
<br/><br/><label>LC Class. No.: </label>BJ1500.N8  / J8513 2007 
<br/><br/><label>Dewey Class. No.: </label>704.9421