Madonna shares powerful message about nudity and art with throwback Instagram post
‘You cannot stop art by trying to shame it. Creation always wins’
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Your support makes all the difference.Madonna has posted a throwback nude photograph of herself on social media to celebrate nudity as an art form.
On Wednesday, the “Material Girl” singer posted a black and white image of herself on Twitter and Instagram, which she explained was taken while she was studying at Martha Graham School of Dance in New York City aged 19.
In the caption of the photograph, which sees the star sitting nude with the title of her 2015 album, “Rebel Heart”, written across her chest, the 60-year-old wrote that she modelled for art schools in the city in order to pay rent.
"Many of these photos were sold to Playboy and Penthouse when I became famous," she added.
The singer also claimed the photographers who took the images “exploited” her and the patriarchy tried to “shame” her for posing nude.
She continued: “I told the press ‘I was not ashamed’ and this became headline news.”
Madonna said the photographs later led her to collaborations with artists Andy Warhol and Keith Haring.
The seven-time Grammy award winner said she is now the “proud owner” of four paintings inspired by the nude photographs which were later given to her as a wedding present by Warhol and Haring.
“You cannot stop art by trying to shame it. Creation always wins,” she concluded.
In 1985, American men’s lifestyle and entertainment magazine Playboy bought and published several nude photographs of Madonna taken by photographers Lee Friedlander and Martin H.M. Schreiber.
The same year, men’s magazine Penthouse published a 17-page layout with 19 nude pictures of the singer taken by photographer Bill Stone in late 1978.
Madonna's post has garnered support from fans on social media who praised the star for showing there is no guilt or shame in the nude form.
One fan commented on the photo: “Art has no boundaries, only to those with closed minds miss all of the beauty in art!
“No one has done it like you did! Be proud of what you have achieved,” added another.
One follower wrote: “You have nothing to be ashamed of and you have everything to be proud of. Well done girl!”
Madonna’s post came hours after she shared a photograph of herself and film director Penny Marshall who died at the age of 75 on Monday.
In the caption of a photo of the pair on the set of the 1992 film A League of Their Own, which also starred Tom Hanks and Geena Davis, Madonna wrote: ‘"So lucky to have known you and have worked with you.
“Your talent was as big as your heart and you were a trailblazer for women in Hollywood! God bless you and your family!"
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