The idea for this book was born in the course of a visit through the Louvre, when Catherine Belanger ventured to call the Louvre the biggest brothel in the world. Jointly with author Jean Galard and photographer Lois Lammerhuber, she selected key paintings spanning five centuries to illustrate the fascinating art of depicting nudity and the artists' struggle for acceptance of the nude in art and society. Lois Lammerhuber detaches the nudity, sensuality and sexuality of the paintings from the context of their artistic intention, conceiving them as material in a fictional photography studio and recreating them in his photographs. He resorts to these models to translate them into the language of fashion, nude and advertising photography, reading their body language and interaction in a way reminiscent of artists like Richard Avedon, Helmut Newton, Horst P. Horst or Herb Ritts — sensual and unexpected. Text in English & French.

The idea for this book was born in the course of a stroll through the Louvre, when Catherine Belanger ventured to call the Louvre the biggest brothel in the world. Key works illustrate the artistic approach and the representation of the nude in the Western world from the 7th century BC to 1897. Lois Lammerhuber detaches the nudity, sensuality and sexuality of the sculptures from the context of their artistic intention, conceiving them as material in a fictional photography studio and recreating them in his photographs. He resorts to these models to translate them into the language of fashion, nude and advertising photography — sensual and unexpected. The images are accompanied by Jean Galard's reflections on this approach from an art-historical and philosophical angle. In its design the book is reminiscent of bronze and refers to the haptic character of sculpture. Text in English & French.