This book assumes the form of a walk through a gallery of twenty-six images — canvases or photographs — in alphabetical order, from « Acephalous » to « Zero » by way of « Equivocal », « Model » and « Resurrection ». Nudity is the world's most commonly shared interest — at least in the Western art world. Although we could say that everywhere else the display of nudity is always associated with erotic and/or sacred points of reference, Western nudity seems to be displayed for its own sake, presenting an interest in its own right that is unrelated to the purpose of gaining knowledge or pleasure.
The authors do not consider nudity erotic, anatomical, or authentic : it « stops short » of sliding over into any of these three postulates. The truth about skin is the one that can only become true when one exposes oneself : to be offered without restraint, but also without revealing anything. For what nudity discloses is that there is nothing to reveal — or that the revelation itself is all there is.
Painting, drawing or photographing a nude poses the same challenge every time : to portray the unportrayable instant of being stripped bare, the instantaneous modesty that robs the viewer of any revelation, and the indecency which reveals that theft.

Philosopher Jean-Luc Nancy was formerly a professor at Université de Strasbourg. A student and friend of Derrida, he has published numerous essays under his own name or in collaboration with Philippe Lacoue-Labarthe, including Le Regard du portrait (2000), and La Création du monde ou la mondialisation (2002).

Federico Ferrari teaches contemporary philosophy and aesthetic at the Brera Academy of Fine Arts in Milan. He has published many essays in Italy on philosophy and literature.