Artists' Models - Posing - Nude Modeling

Nude Modeling

Models for life drawing classes usually pose nude, though visually non-obstructive personal items such as small jewelry and eyeglasses may be worn. In a job advertisement seeking nude models, this may be referred to as being "undraped" or "disrobed".

During art school classes or in other academic settings, strict rules are observed to maintain decorum. Admission to and visibility of the area where a nude model is posing is tightly controlled. Disrobing is done discretely, and the model wears a robe when not posing. It is generally prohibited for anyone (including the instructor) to touch a model. Very close examinations are only made with the permission of the model. Some institutions allow only the instructor to speak directly with a model. Experienced models avoid any sexually suggestive poses. Art instructors and institutions may consider the incident of a male model gaining an erection while posing cause for termination, or at any rate, grounds for not hiring him again. Any of these policies may vary in different parts of the world. In Europe and South America attitudes are more relaxed, while in China and Korea attitudes are more repressed. In non-academic settings, models may pose as requested by professional artists within the limits of the law and their own comfort. For example, the French artist Yves Klein applied paint to models' bodies which were then pressed into or dragged across canvas both as performance art and as painting technique; and in 2010 at the Museum of Modern Art, a retrospective of the work of Marina Abramović included two nude models standing in a narrow doorway through which visitors passed.

The conventions for professional artists working in private are much less defined, especially as the models are often friends or family. However artists who regularly hire strangers tend to observe art school standards in order to make models feel more comfortable, and to avoid possible legal issues. Professional artists often hire the same models on a regular basis. When a comfortable working relationship is established, many artists relax their standards and models do the same. This may be something as simple as not undressing in another room, or not wearing a robe during breaks. In addition, silence is no longer necessary if the artist is comfortable working and conversing with the model. A more collegial relationships may develop were artist and model feel that they are collaborating. However, in a private studio environment, with an artist on a deadline or with commission guidelines, stricter work standards may apply regarding punctuality and holding longer, more demanding poses, but also require higher rates of pay.

In Western countries, there is generally no objection to either sex posing nude for or drawing members of the opposite sex. However, this was not always so in the past. In 1886, Thomas Eakins was famously dismissed from the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art for removing the loincloth from a male model in a mixed classroom. Similarly, Victorian modesty sometimes required the female model to pose nude with her face draped (illustration). European arts academies did not allow women to study the nude at all until the end of the nineteenth century. Even today there remain some schools where the employment of nude models is limited (male models wearing jockstraps) or prohibited, usually for religious reasons.