What is beauty...?

Nymphaea is a gallery that is based upon a gallery of a similar purpose from the Web 1.0 named "naked". This is not a reboot, tribute, or copy of that site, but rather my own take on the same theme.

The Purpose

Nymphaea is a gallery of non-explicit, non-sexual nudity as featured in the manga of Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon. Its purpose isn't to titillate, but rather to take a look at it from an artistic perspective: what is Takeuchi-sensei trying to communicate? What could a character's lack of clothing represent in the scene? What does it mean to you, personally? Are you offended or repulsed by it? If so, why? These are all questions that I would like people to give some thought to while viewing these galleries and admiring the beauty. Nudity in art has been a touchy topic for time immemorial, but here, I'd like the discussion to be thoughtful, not sexual or outraged.

The Name

So why "Nymphaea"? A few reasons. "Nymphaea" is the scientific name for the water lily flower family, derived from the Ancient Greek term νύμφη, "nýmphe" ("nímfi" in modern Greek), a minor female nature deity usually found near a body of water. The term "nymph" also has a colloquial meaning in modern English vernacular, referring to a sexually attractive young woman. This was probably derived from nymphomania, an outdated term for female hypersexuality (or some may say merely sexuality -- which in itself is a very complicated topic I'm definitely not going into here). Water lilies are flowers that are imbued with deep meaning in almost all cultures in the world. I chose this title for a few reasons: in Victorian flower language, the water lily stands for chastity and purity. In hanakotoba (Japanese flower language), it means the same, with the added meaning of "being far from one you love". In Egyptian, Hindu, and Buddhist religious symbolism, it's a flower of resurrection and rebirth, as well as deep knowledge. All of these things relate to the theme of this gallery, in my opinion...but I'll leave it up to you as to how they do ^~