What do we see in a historical painting or photograph that shows a person in open water? Most likely, in the first instance, someone who is engaging with swimming or bathing in a natural environment. But at second glance, these images can teach us many things about a society’s attitudes towards the human body, perceptions of the western and wider world and political supremacy.
For starters, there is the issue of nudity. Artists need to decide about how much of the human body they want to reveal and for what reason. We often think that semi or full public nudity is a modern phenomenon, but there is evidence that during the Middle Ages and the pre-modern period in western Europe, naked bodies were an integral part of society.
