At a one-off after hours tour of the museum entitled “Nude Men from 1800 to Today”, visitors were encouraged to take off as much of their clothes as they felt necessary. For many, this was down to their socks…Museum floors are cold you know…
According to “Time”, the special tour attracted over 60 visitors, mainly men who obviously felt a very strong connection to the subjects of the works.
Normally, a visitor who would strip down would be asked to leave the building quite promptly much to the embarrassment of the museum but not in Vienna. The initial stripping attracted news attention and the museum liked the idea of life imitating art. Apparently, the museum was inundated with requests to view the paintings while in the nude.
Despite the overtly sexual nature of some of the pieces in the show, the Leopold have received very few complaints and has attracted over 100,000 visitors.
There are a few nudes in the National Gallery we hear…….
