Despite some prophecies to the contrary, the human figure has lost none of its fascination for artists of our time; and the curious and uneasy, although fruitful, relationship between the nude as a form of art and the psychology of nakedness has lost none of its fascination either.

The twentieth century remains a great age of figurative art.

Georg Eisler, the distinguished painter and draftsman, has defined the practical and theoretical problems of the confrontation with the human form. By collecting examples of the vast variety of styles in contemporary drawings, ranging from Rodin to Hockney, and linking them with his own incisive commentaries, he provides an affectionate critical anthology which will be welcomed by all who respond to art, and especially by those who make art for their own pleasure.