This master's thesis examines the nude in fine arts from the late 18th to the early 20th century. It analyses the female nude body within the art history context in which the female nude was created. It also argues the symbolism of the nude through the various artistic styles that emerged in the 19th century. The analysis is specifically focused on the motif of the bare breasts. Through this motif, various symbolic values associated with this attribute are interpreted. Before delving into the specific analysis of artworks, the thesis explores the position of women in the 19th century. After discussing the status of women, this paper examines the female nude in a European context, chronologically addressing artworks according to stylistic periods. Through each stylistic period, the role of the female figure in nude painting is argued, as well as the treatment of female nudity. Female nudity bears diverse symbolic values, including heroic, national, erotic, and maternal symbolism. Those three motifs are modified and restructured through 19th century stylistic periods. Therefore, the paper keeps track of the growth of the female nude and the way in which the female nude marked and scandalized European and Croatian art. The analysis of the female nude in Croatian painting and sculpture occupies a central part of this work. The Croatian art scene in the 19th and at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries is treated through three different motifs that the breasts carry. Hence, this thesis examines the female nude in Croatian art through the motif of national breasts, the motif of erotic breasts and the motif of maternal breasts. The aim of this thesis is to present female nudity in 19th-century art, both in European and Croatian contexts, and to explain the symbolic identity encapsulated by the breasts. The thesis argues the meanings of different value constructs embodied in the representation of the nude female figure, uncovering historical, political, and cultural discourses embedded in artistic imagery.