An art exhibition about male nudes has proven a sell-out success at a gallery in Austria - despite causing outrage before it opened with a picture of three naked footballers.

The promotional poster featured a photograph called 'Vive La France' by French artists Pierre & Gilles that depicts three players stood on a pitch wearing nothing but socks and boots, being showered with confetti.

footballers nude The censored poster... click through the gallery below to see the original


A public outcry promoted the Leopold Museum in Vienna to cover up the offending tackle, but the photo's jubilant scene proved prophetic - since it opened, 'Nude Men from 1800 to the present day' has proven even more popular than the gallery's recent show on the work of Gustav Klimt, Austria's most famous artist.

Open until 28 January, the show looks at how male nudity has evolved in art and includes pieces by Egon Schiele, Auguste Rodin and Andy Warhol.

A spokesperson for the Leopold, Klaus Pokorny, told us: "It's a big success, with more than 2000 daily visitors.

"And we're delighted it now has a worldwide echo on The Huffington Post!"

See the highlights of the show below... WARNING: CONTAINS GRAPHIC IMAGES

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  • Shepherd Boy (Tank Top)

    Elmgreen & Dragset Michael Elmgreen (* 1961) and Ingar Dragset (*1968) Shepherd Boy (Tank Top), 2009 Laserchrome color print mounted on aluminium with plexiglass, 200 x 149,5 cm Courtesy Gallerie Nicolai Wallner, Copenhagen © VBK Wien 2012

  • Nudes vg 02

    Thomas Ruff (* 1958) "nudes vg 02", Ed. 3/5, 2000 C-Print, 147 x 110 cm Private Collection Cofalka, Austria

  • Mr. Big

    Ilse Haider (* 1965) Mr. Big, 2006/2012 installation in the courtyard of the MuseumsQuartier, Vienna Walk-in sculpture, digital print on wood, 900 x 300 x 420 cm Courtesy Galerie Steinek, Vienna

  • Preacher

    Egon Schiele (1890-1918) "Preacher" (Nude Self-Portrait with Blue-Green Shirt), 1913 Pencil and gouache on paper, 47,1 x 31,2 cm Leopold Museum, Vienna, Inv. 2365 © Leopold Museum, Vienna

  • Querelle

    Andy Warhol (1928-1987) Querelle, c. 1982 Oil-stick and felt-tip pen on acetate over silkscreen, inks and paper 111,5 x 90,8 cm Private Collection © VBK, Vienna 2012

  • The Wrath of Achilles

    François-Léon Benouville (1821-1859) The Wrath of Achilles, 1847 Oil on canvas, 156 x 94,5 cm Musée Fabre de Montpellier Agglomération

  • Fillette

    Louise Bourgeois (1911-2010) Fillette (Sweeter Version), 1968, cast 1999 Latex over plaster, 59,6 x 26,6 x 19,6 cm Ursula Hauser Collection, Switzerland © VBK, Wien 2012

  • Death of Hippolytus

    Joseph-Désiré Court (1797-1865) Death of Hippolytus, 1828 Oil on canvas, 35, 46 cm Musée Fabre de Montpellier Agglomération

  • Vive la France (Long live France)

    Pierre & Gilles Pierre Commoy (*1950) and Gilles Blanchard (*1953) Vive la France (Long live France), 2006 Unique hand-painted photograph, pigment print on canvas Private Collection, Courtesy Galerie Jérôme de Noirmont, Paris

  • Seated Boy

    Anton Kolig (1886-1950) Seated Boy, 1919 Oil on canvas 152 x 93,1 cm Leopold Museum, Vienna, Inv. 406 © Leopold Museum, Vienna

  • Flute Concert

    Wilhelm von Gloeden (1856-1931) Flute Concert, 1905 Photo postcard, 8,9 x 13,8 cm Verlag Adolph Engel, Berlin © Private collection

  • Self Portrait from the Series of Grand Emotions

    Urs Lüthi (* 1947) Self Portrait from the Series of Grand Emotions, 1987 Acrylic on canvas, 250 x 160 cm © Urs Lüthi

  • Self Portrait with Palette

    Richard Gerstl (1883-1908) Self portrait with Palette, 1908 Oil on canvas, 139,3 x 100 cm Leopold Museum, Vienna, Inv. 651 © Leopold Museum, Vienna

  • Youth from the Magdalensberg

    Youth from the Magdalensberg 16th-century cast of a Roman original Bronze, hollow-cast, 185 x 52 x 16 cm Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, Collection of Greek and Roman Antiquities

  • L'âge d'airain (The Age of Bronze)

    Auguste Rodin (1840-1917) L'âge d'airain (The Age of Bronze), 1875/76 Bronze, 179 x 67 x 62 cm Kunsthaus Zürich

  • Vive la France - poster

    Pierre & Gilles Pierre Commoy (*1950) and Gilles Blanchard (*1953) Vive la France (Long live France), 2006 Unique hand-painted photograph, pigment print on canvas Private Collection, Courtesy Galerie Jérôme de Noirmont, Paris

  • Vive la France - poster censored