SOURCE: OverstockArt.com

October 24, 2006 09:15 ET

This Is the Age of Skin - Classic Oil Paintings Coincide With the Fashion World

WICHITA, KS -- (MARKET WIRE) -- October 24, 2006 -- (OverstockArt.com) -- Low profile jeans showing off derrieres, deep-cut shirts for exposing as much cleavage as possible, daisy-duke jean-shorts and bun-huggers -- these days what's hot is what's not. When it comes to fashion, it seems the more there is to see, the better.

But this isn't a new trend by any stretch of the imagination.

The naked body and exposing of skin has been around in popular culture and art for years. Many of history's greatest artists and sculptors worked with almost exclusively nude subjects, and it created some of the most timeless works ever.

So it comes as no surprise that, with resurgence in the popularity of the bare body in the fashion world, that the nude masterpiece paintings of long ago are making a comeback as well.

Amitai Sasson, Vice President at OverstockArt.com, the Internet's premier vendor of handmade reproduction oil paintings, claims risqué is selling well for his business these days.

"People love the naked beauty in some of the classic paintings," he said. "It's not that the nudity attracts them, it's the classy beauty in the paintings that comes through to them. It's really more about the art and the beautiful simplicity than anything else."

Truly, many people are embarrassed or uncomfortable around naked paintings -- sometimes risqué is a little too much. But Sasson believes once an owner gets comfortable around a nude painting, the real art comes through.

"People are sometimes turned away at first until they really take a moment to examine the work," he said. "Then they start to realize how wonderful the human body can be -- especially when it is portrayed in a way that makes it so dramatic and provocative."

One of the most popular paintings OverstockArt has sold recently is Nudo Disteso according to Sasson's numbers.

"The Nudo Disteso by Modigliani is a fantastic painting," he said. "It doesn't surprise me that it's becoming hip these days."

Although popular, Sasson doesn't think the trend will cause every wall in every city to look like the last scene from "Hair."

"These are paintings people are buying more for the home rather than the office," he said, smiling. "I'm not sure they would be appropriate for corporate boardrooms and offices."