Page 3: The Art Edition, An Alternative Suggestion For The Sun | HuffPost Life

An Alternative For The Sun: Page 3, The Art Edition

By

Culture Editor of Huffington Post UK

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ArtFinder.com

The Sun newspaper is being targeted this month by various campaigners, writers and thinkers who believe a daily dose of bare breasts on page 3 of the country's biggest-selling newspaper is just a teensie bit too objectifying to still exist in 2012...

Luckily, in the art world female (or male) nudity isn't anything to worry about. Capturing the human form in its many shapes and sizes has always been a noble pursuit for painters - particularly as most never had a super long camera lens or a copy of Photoshop to help them replicate anyone in their birthday suit.

Being the peace-loving types we are on HuffPost Culture, we have therefore came up with a solution that should keep those offended by page 3 and those rather fond of ogling naked ladies happy.

Ladies and gentleman - we give you page 3, the art edition.

There are literally thousands of paintings of de-robed models that together chart a fascinating history of art. By publishing these instead, The Sun could simultaneously maintain their breast count whilst helping turn on the mass public to centuries of beautiful paintings.

In short, it's a win-win. Don't believe us? Check out these examples below:

Page 3 Beauties

(01 of16)

Nude, 95-years-old, from Italy says she think binge-drinking is a problem we should take more seriously as a society. "Amedeo Modigliani, who painted me, died partly due to alcohol addiction when he was only 35. Incidentally my face isn't this elongated and mask-like in real life: that was just Modigliani's style," she said.IMAGE: ArtFinder.com

(02 of16)

Standing female nude with crossed arms, 102-years-old, from Austria is used to being the centre of attention - though not always for good reasons. "It may not seem explicit by today's standards but in 1912 my portrait and Schiele's other pieces were considered pornography and got him imprisoned," she explains. "I didn't ask for red arms and cheeks but Egon Schiele said he wanted to paint me like his mentor Klimt. So I'm taking that to mean the blotches represent my inner passion, rather than any kind of skin complaint." IMAGE: ArtFinder.com

(03 of16)

Blue Nude, 112-years-old from Scotland says her portrait could very easily never have happened. "John Duncan Fergusson trained to be naval surgeon when he was younger, before converting to being a painter. However, he nearly quit that too after finding his art school in Edinburgh to 'rigid'. Luckily for us he decided to carry on and teach himself!"IMAGE: ArtFinder.com

(04 of16)

Etude de femme nue' (Study of a female nude), 142-years-old, from France says she was a departure for Henri Fantin-Latour, who spent most of his time painting flowers. "Henri mingled with famous Parisian Impressionists like Manet but remained fairly conservative himself. I guess you could call my portrait an exception."IMAGE: ArtFinder.com

(05 of16)

Female nude with a jug, 87-years-old from France says the man she was muse to was a 'bit of a beast'. "André Derain - along with his friend Henri Matisse, was daubed les Fauves ("the wild beasts") in 1905 by an critic called Louis Vauxcelles. It was supposed to be an insult, but they went on to found Fauvism."IMAGE: ArtFinder.com

(06 of16)

Femme nue au chien, 151-years-old from France insists she hasn't been 'Photoshopped' in slightest. "Gustave Courbet was all about Realism, so what you see is what you get. As well as me he painted a lot of nude pictures, including close ups of female genitalia that got him into trouble with the police."IMAGE: ArtFinder.com

(07 of16)

Large Nude, 105-years-old, from France says she enjoys being a typical example of Impressionism. "Pierre-Auguste Renoir liked to capture his models in intimate or candid poses - often washing themselves or getting dressed - so I feel like I got off lightly here with my portrait," she explains. "He used soft brush strokes and colours to make me seem at one with my surrounding - a convention of Impressionism - meaning I appear very comfortable on the cushions and bedding. Which I was, as it happens."IMAGE: ArtFinder.com

(08 of16)

Large Nude in a Red Armchair, 83-years-old, from Spain says she was more than just a model to Pablo Picasso. "My real name is Olga Khokhlova, and Pablo and I were married in 1918. This is one of his rather disturbing portraits of me. I was actually a beautiful dancer, not that you can tell from the picture..."IMAGE: ArtFinder.com

(09 of16)

Reclining nude, 135-years-old from France says her painter had a lot of influential friends, but was never quite celebrated in the same way. "Armand [Guillaumin] knew them all: Paul Cézanne, Camille Pissarro - even van Gogh, but never made it quite like they did. A shame really - the intense colours he helped shaped the Impressionist movement."IMAGE: ArtFinder.com

(10 of16)

Nude, 102-years-old from France says Edgar Degas, her painter, was prickly about how you labeled him. "He's known as a founder of Impressionism, but he hated the term. He liked to call himself a realist instead."IMAGE: ArtFinder.com

(11 of16)

Seated nude, 94-years-old from Germany says she's grateful her Expressionist creator Hermann Max Pechstein painted her when he did. "Later in his career his paintings became more primitive and harsh, full of black lines and weird, angular figures. At least I kept a bit of colour."IMAGE: ArtFinder.com

(12 of16)

Mademoiselle Rose, 192-years-old, from France says not to take her pose too seriously. "I might look at little anxious and uncomfortable, but believe me that was the style back in the heady days of French Romanticism. I actually rather enjoyed being a muse for Eugène Delacroix - and Richard Parkes Bonington."IMAGE: ArtFinder.com

(13 of16)

Standing Female Nude, 114-years-old from France says even being a leading figure of the Post-Impressionist period wasn't enough to satisfy her artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. "He drank a lot because people made fun of his short legs (he was disabled from a young age) and in the end it killed him."IMAGE: ArtFinder.com

(14 of16)

Standing Nude, 63-years-old, from France admits she was just one of many for Expressionist Bernard Buffet. "He create more than 8,000 paintings and many prints as well. Sadly Buffet committed suicide in 1999 after no longer being able to work due to illness."IMAGE: ArtFinder.com

(15 of16)

Standing Nude Woman, 118-years-old, from France says Paul Gauguin made her a pioneering figure of Post-Impressionism. "Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse were both inspired by the bold colours and synthestist stype Gauguin used to paint me."IMAGE: ArtFinder.com

(16 of16)

Study from the nude female seated on a bank, 190-years-old from England says: "William Etty painted a lot of nudes in his time, but most of his paintings were far more colourful than my portrait. I try not to take it personally."IMAGE: ArtFinder.com

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the sun Edgar Degas art nudity Arts Pablo Picasso

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