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PEOPLE & ARTS Monday 30 July 2018
It's Rubens vs. Facebook in fight over artistic nudity

By RAF CASERT The Visit Flanders tourist And that is where Rubens
Associated Press board even produced a and other masters get
BRUSSELS (AP) — For four mock news video where caught in the act.
centuries, the opulent, security officials prevent D'Haen said Belgian officials
exuberant nudes of Peter visitors from seeing nudity in want Facebook to "make a
Paul Rubens have been the Rubens House museum. difference between nudity
known to shock and In it, one even spreads his in general, pornographic
delight in sometimes equal arms in front of the "Adam nudity, which is of course not
measure. And now, even in & Eve" painting, where the allowed on their platform,
2018, his Baroque paintings biblical figures are covered and the nudity which is part
are still jolting the internet. only by the proverbial fig of many paintings hanging
Belgian museums are leaf. Instead they divert in Flanders and worldwide."
uniting in protest against them to other paintings She said they never get
Facebook since they where everyone is properly complaints from museum
cannot promote Flemish dressed. goers about the nudity.
Masters including Rubens Point made, they hope. Both sides have agreed to
at will for fear of falling foul "Twenty percent of the a meeting to discuss the
of the social media site's (Facebook) posts that we topic in detail. Facebook
adult content rules and dedicated to the Flemish In this photo taken on Thursday, July 26, 2018, visitors look at the wrote to The Associated
automatic censorship. Masters couldn't be shown painting "Adam and Eve" by Flemish master Peter Paul Rubens Press on Friday saying that
"The bare breasts and to our audience, our cultural in the Rubenshouse in Antwerp, Belgium. "as part of a longer running
buttocks painted by our audience worldwide," Associated Press and continuous review
artist are considered by said spokeswoman Tama process, we want to make
you to be inappropriate. d'Haen of Visit Flanders. understands the issue. Yet in explicit or suggestive sure that museums and
We have noticed that "It's really embarrassing even if it allows paintings positions, or activities that other institutions are able
Facebook consistently for Visit Flanders that we like those from Rubens to are overly suggestive or to share some of their most
rejects works of art by cannot show one of our be posted, it has more sexually provocative." iconic paintings."
our beloved Peter Paul main assets to the world. restrictive rules when it The Facebook rules go on to "We are thus currently
Rubens," over a dozen top That's why we came up comes to advertising, say that it includes "nudity reviewing our approach to
Belgian art officials wrote with the idea of a video," which "must not contain or implied nudity, even if nudity in paintings in ads on
to Facebook CEO Mark she said. adult content. This includes artistic or educational in Facebook," the statement
Zuckerberg. Facebook says it nudity, depictions of people nature." said.q