Ananova:

Almost 1,500 men and women stripped naked in the name of art in the French city of Lyon.

They gathered before dawn to join the latest nude photo shoot by New York artist Spencer Tunick.

Directed by the artist from a crane, they posed with arms and legs in the air between shipping containers in Lyon's port, reports the BBC.

Previous shoots have been held in New York, Belgium, Barcelona and Brazil, as well as London and Tyneside in the UK.

Men and women of all ages, most of them from the Lyon area but some from further afield, arrived in the city at 4.30am to receive their instructions.

As dawn broke, the volunteers stripped naked and scurried into place, ready to move into formation with arms and legs held high.

Questioned after the shoot, the models said they had signed up "for the experience" or "for art's sake".

The photographs will go on display in Lyon in November, as part of the city's biennial modern art festival.

Tunick, 38, carried out the world's largest nude photo shoot in Barcelona in June 2003, when 7,000 volunteers stripped for the camera.