nude?

Germans don't afraid from nudity. Don't confuse Germans with Americans .

In that scene the breasts are partially obscured by the woman's hair hanging down.

If you think that is odd, then take a look at the earlier scene of the revelers (the people who have decided that if they are all going to die from the plague then they might as well party until the end) parading through the streets. There are multiple women that can be clearly seen to be topless, though they do each pass in and out of the frame relatively quickly.

the 1920s gets a bad rap, because of the 1930s film industries censors crack down, but in truth, nudity, done tastfully, as in faust, was common place in many big budget movies American or european. but to many "scandelous" dance scenes and soft near porn clips brought on the censorship act in film making right before the talkies came out in 1929. NOt until the mid 60s did things start to change, and of coarse now a days no one can seem to make a film with out a nude shot which really has little or no purpose at all except to get a harder rating, and art is never considered. It was done for art not porn, but some people just can't seem to figure out one from the other and it just gets ruined for all of us.

Nudity was NOT taboo in films of the 20's, in Germany or in the States. Censorship didn't start clamping down on American films until 1934.

Yes, Mephisto was tempting Faust with the projected image of a beautiful Italian princess (at least in the silent film version).

The MPAA did not exist yet nor did it have any sway over German film making. Goethe's Faust (the original play that influenced this film) had a lot of raunchy scenes.

You can read it here in English. This PDF has Parts 1 and 2.
http://www.iowagrandmaster.org/Books%20in%20pdf/Faust.pdf

For a very abridged version listen to the Power Metal albums Epica and The Black Halo by Kamelot. They retell the Goethe version of Faust Parts 1 and 2 if played back to back. They just change Faust's name to Ariel and Gretchen's name to Helena. Mephisto's name is left in tact.

Here's an edition of the play that includes a section removed from the first publication in which Satan shows up (Satan and Mephisto are not the same character in the original legend. Mephistopheles was a separate demon) and talks about the glories of the reproductive organs.

http://www.amazon.com/Faust-Tragedy-Wordsworth-Classics-Literature/dp/ 1840221151

Though the PDF version lacks the Satan scene it is a better translation and I recommend the PDF more than that paperback on Amazon.