However the figurative painting in general and painting of men and women without clothes in particular have remained a bone of contention since ancient time. Whether they are rulers, politicians, scholars or religious leaders, all have opposed depicting cloth-less human bodies from time to time. But the clan of artists desiring to recreate the beauty of human form on their canvases have never bowed down to any social, political or religious pressure. They have applied their artistic prowess adoring the beauty of the male and female figures on papers, on canvases and on the altars of temples and churches.
The paintings done by artists like Botticelli, Rembrandt, William Bouguereau, Paul Gauguin or John Godward are considered as major links to the history of art of painting. It is because the artists love doing figurative painting. Moreover many of them have worked when the whole society stood on a crossroad. When artists function in a time that would decide the future of coming generations, such artists would play a consolidating role in many aspects. They help changing the age-old traditions and outdated philosophies.
