Nudes come to Shrewsbury

Almost 30 works by artists including Auguste Rodin, Francis Bacon and Lucien Freud will be on display at Shrewsbury Museum & Art Gallery from September 15 to January 4 2015, as part of a special exhibition that considers our obsession with body image.

The show, called Exposed: The Body in Art from Durer to Freud, reveals a range of different responses to the human body. It is centred around Edward Burne-Jones' 1878 Pygmalion series, which is used to set out the five themes for exploration.

As well as looking at how the body has been a focus of artistic observation throughout history, the display picks out examples that depict visions of an 'ideal body', mutations of the body and how the body has been used as a vehicle for imagination and fantasy.

Other notable artists feature, including Albrecht Dürer, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Barbara Hepworth, and Helen Chadwick.

Exposed is being loaned to Shrewsbury Museum & Art Gallery by Birmingham Museums Trust on behalf of Birmingham City Council and is supported by funding from Arts Council England.

The exhibition's tour is limited to two venues, having previously only been on display at The Herbert Art Gallery and Museum.

Emma-Kate Lanyon, team leader for collections and curatorial services with Shropshire Council, said: "Body image never seems to be far from the front page these days with the topic being constantly debated. Not only do we question the aesthetic ideals we impose on ourselves and others but we also wonder just how this obsession has developed and changed over the centuries. This special exhibition will consider some of these questions."

Tina Woodward, Shropshire Council's deputy cabinet member for visitor economy, said: "It's brilliant that such an impressive and internationally-important art exhibition will be on display in Shrewsbury, giving visitors the chance to see work by some of the world's best-known and most notable artists. Following hot on the heels of the successful 'Living Dangerously' photo exhibition and the Frank Cohen contemporary art exhibition, Shrewsbury Museum & Art Gallery is fast becoming the place to visit for art lovers."

Shrewsbury Museum & Art Gallery is open 10am to 5pm, seven days a week until September 30. It will be closed on Mondays from October 1 2014 until Easter 2015.

Admission is £4 per adult and £2 per child, which includes entry to the Special Exhibitions Gallery. Concessions are available.

For more information visit www.shrewsburymuseum.org.uk.