In the first programme of her provocative two-part essay, classicist and broadcaster Mary Beard takes on the nude. From the Ancient Greeks to the taboo-busting painters and sculptors of today, Mary gives a deeply personal take on naked bodies in art. Just why are artists so interested in nudity? What can art reveal about our own attitudes to the body? For Mary, the nude stands on some of the deepest fault lines running through society, speaking to issues of men, women, gender and sex gender, sex and moral transgression.

In episode two Mary looks at an eclectic range of works to show how artists have challenged the idea of 'the body beautiful’, and explores how artistic nudes can provoke viewers to consider fundamental questions about being human.