If They'd Been Painted Now: Classical Beauties, Modern Aesthetic

[3113]

“What would have happened if the aesthetic standard of our society had belonged to the collective unconscious of the great artists of the past?” So asks Italian artist Anna Utopia Giordano in her Venus project, which re-imagines classic artistic depictions of Venus with a modern and extreme Photoshop makeover. What begin as mostly Rubenesque beauties are transformed into busty, slim-waisted figures more closely matching the ideals we are bombarded with today.

Actually, I don't think she altered them enough. You can't see their ribs and their breasts look pretty much the same

Full article and more images here.

http://cdn.visualnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Venus-Project-Anna-Utopia-Giordano-3.jpg

http://cdn.visualnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Venus-Project-Anna-Utopia-Giordano-3_2.jpg

 

[LettersFromTatyana]

Actually, I don't think she altered them enough. You can't see their ribs and their breasts look pretty much the same

And I think at least one of them needs to have a glaring photoshop error, like a missing limb or eyebrow or something.

 

[Cruel2BKind]

The comments were interesting.

A lot of them seem to think that the author (photoshopper?) was doing this out of some personal aesthetic, and not just to make a point. Half of them were berating the man for 'fixing what wasn't broke'.

If there are so many damn men who like curvy women then why can't I find any??? Here, they seem to be under every rock and behind every corner.

 

[oggbashan]

The impact might have been greater if I could see the result in a larger image.

Even so, I can't see the point.

What was acceptable at the time is still acceptable now. With the increase in Western obesity, it might have been even more feasible if the figures had been photoshopped into BBWs.

What is considered attractive is influenced by the fashions of the age. "High-breasted" women were considered most attractive by writers of 18th and 19th Century German Student Songs. "High-breasted" equalled young and nubile. Maternity and age made breasts sink lower and lower.

The invention of the bra and its development have made grandmothers 'high-breasted', sometimes unfeasibly so.

Yet in the 1920s, breasts were de-emphasised. A boyish figure was considered the height of beauty...

 

[voluptuary_manque]

The ultra think, silicone-ized figure that are shown to be in style today are the product of the fashion industry. It takes less effort (and less talent) to design and cut clothing that only fits on a wire hanger so in order for the fashion houses to make billions milking the world's women they found models who were the living equivalent of wire coat hangers. However, breasts are attractive to men so women starved themselves to look good in clothing and then had themselves inflated to attract boys. Note I said boys. Adult men are not so easily fooled. C2BK, you need to cultivate older admirers . . .

 

[oggbashan]

...Adult men are not so easily fooled. C2BK, you need to cultivate older admirers . . .

But not as old as me.

By my age, most men appreciate any and all shapes of women.

 

[voluptuary_manque]

That's when they come close enough we can actually see them.

 

[oggbashan]

That's when they come close enough we can actually see them. :rofl:

My eyes are the only part of me still working well without artificial aids.

 

[TxRad]

But not as old as me.

By my age, most men appreciate any and all shapes of women.

I learned at an early age to appreciate all women period. The outside is only a carrying case for the inside. Attitude and personality have far more to do with a person than their figure. It's just too bad more men and women for that matter can't see that.

 

[Stella_Omega]

One very nice thing about being a butch dyke? When you say that you like big curvy women, they totally trust that you're telling the truth.

 

[UnfoundSearcher]

I just finished reaching Christopher Moore's new book, Sacre Bleu, which takes place at the end of the 19th century and centers around the French painters. It's a wonderful book and, more than once, his characters make subtle reference to this silly notion we have of half-starved women. Don't get me wrong, I try, and am usually able, to find beauty in most women, but I tend to prefer those with more visible curves, or even toned muscle, than exposed ribs.

I will say this, though. I'm incredibly happy that Giordano didn't touch the face of Botticelli's Venus. It's one of my favorites. Maybe it's just me, but if you look closely, beyond the magnificent body, there's something in her eyes, a depth, almost a sadness in the set of her face, that breaks my heart every time.

 

[Handley_Page]

I will say this, though. I'm incredibly happy that Giordano didn't touch the face of Botticelli's Venus. It's one of my favorites. Maybe it's just me, but if you look closely, beyond the magnificent body, there's something in her eyes, a depth, almost a sadness in the set of her face, that breaks my heart every time.

And therein lies the genius of the painter.

 

[THROBBS]

..... make billions milking the world's women ...

What a living!