---
title: "The nude gains its enduring value from the fact that it reconciles se… — Kenneth Clark Quote #9 | QuotesBy.net"
description: "The nude gains its enduring value from the fact that it reconciles several contrary states. It takes the most sensual and immediately interesting obj… — a quote by Kenneth Clark."
image: "https://quotesby.net/wp-content/themes/quotesby-editorial/assets/og-default.png"
---

> # The nude gains its enduring value from the fact that it reconciles several contrary states. It takes the most sensual and immediately interesting object, the human body, and puts it out of reach of time and desire; it takes the most purely rational concept of which mankind is capable, mathematical order, and makes it a delight to the senses; and it takes the vague fears of the unknown and sweetens them by showing that the gods are like men and may be worshiped for their life-giving beauty rather than their death-dealing powers.

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## More from Kenneth Clark

1. > No nude, however abstract, should fail to arouse in the spectator some vestige of erotic feeling, even if it be only the faintest shadow - and if it does not d…

[Permalink to quote \#8](https://quotesby.net/Kenneth-Clark/8/ "Permalink to quote 8")
2. > Energy is eternal delight; and from the earliest times human beings have tried to imprison it in some durable hieroglyphic. It is perhaps the first of all the …

[Permalink to quote \#10](https://quotesby.net/Kenneth-Clark/10/ "Permalink to quote 10")
3. > The various parts of the body cannot be perceived as simple units and have no clear relationship to one another. In almost every detail the body is not the sha…

[Permalink to quote \#7](https://quotesby.net/Kenneth-Clark/7/ "Permalink to quote 7")

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