Intimate clothing was not common in art until artists began to explore people’s private lives. It only became prominent in the work of the Impressionists and their followers – Degas, Toulouse-Lautrec and Laura Knight, for example – who explored behind the scenes at the music hall, the ballet and the theatre. Nightwear however can be found in earlier paintings, when the scene is set at night-time, and its use is often humorous.
Glamour shots were one of the source materials for Pop Art in the mid-twentieth century; its subject matter of popular entertainers was shared with the Impressionists. Underwear and revealing clothing are still an essential part of how film stars, models and musicians are promoted in popular culture.
