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The classically plump women from Renaissance masterpieces like Sandro Botticelli’s 'Birth of Venus' (original above) have been digitally slimmed down in a modern-day makeover, a striking show of how views of beauty can change with time. Italian artist Anna Utopia Giordano used Photoshop to digitally slice and dice the voluptuous figures, flattening plump tummies and thinning out thick thighs, replacing strong and sturdy limbs with lean calves and skinny arms.
Its funny, the Photoshopped versions feel so much more sexual to me. I clicked then I thought "I shouldn't be looking at this at work!", even though I would never feel that way about renaissance art in its natural form. I didn't notice the NSFW, so my fault.
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lessismore · 4740 days ago · link ·
I wondered what the original artists and the general population of their time would think of the 'shopped versions. Would they find them less sexually attractive because they were conditioned differently to what beauty is?
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lessismore · 4739 days ago · link ·
I prefer a lil meat on my lady, but she disagrees.
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lessismore · 4739 days ago · link ·
In her case yes. When we visit relatives, I always hear from the elders that she is too thin. She needs to put on a few pounds. So a little more on her is a little less complaints for me. :)
I would have to assume so. There are a lot of art historians who have written specifically about the burly arms, legs and shoulders on the Renaissance female nudes. It seems to be a common thought that this happened because 1) many of the models were actually male, and 2) homosexuality was pervasive, but latent among Europe's elite in the Renaissance (which is certainly not mutually exclusive from point 1). I think the ideal female now is, although harsh at times in its judgment of the not-so-skinny, much more feminine.
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thenewgreen · 4740 days ago · link ·
I don't know... Alexandre Cabanel's version was pretty feminine imo. There's that great scene in Pulp Fiction when Bruce Willis' Girlfriend describes how it's a shame that the things that are the most appealing to the touch aren't what we find the most appealing to the eye.
When I was in college one Halloween I hooked up with a girl that was dressed as "Monica Lewinsky". She was hefty, it was fun. I liked her pot-belly: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOfNk7TxASo I've said too much.
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I hope you're wife isn't on Hubski. How dare you fondly reminisce about taggin a fatty on Valentine's Day?!
That's a classic scene, but I can't say I find pot bellies cute on anything but a baby pig. Check out Michelangelo's Fall from Grace to get a great example of a classic Renaissance man-woman. http://www.google.com/imgres?q=michelangelo+fall+from+grace&...
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thenewgreen · 4740 days ago · link ·
That poor girl must not be able to afford food. They should have also made the women turn darker in skin color. Back then "pale" was all the rage. It let people know that you needn't be outside with the common laborers. Nobody "tanned".
Like I found myself thinking I was looking at something "naughty" when they turned skinny. Funny that the breast size remained the same. -Not that I noticed.