Although it is definitely true that narrow hips have a universal appeal, there is a brief period when Western culture became fascinated with really big women, not Marilyn Monroe, Jayne Mansfield, voluptuous pin-up big, but really big women. The most famous artist of the period created the iconic vision of zaftig loveliness, and we nowadays describe women of this build with the adjective Rubenesque. Peter Paul Rubens is famous for his figures of great girth that also project loveliness and sensuousness. Although large by today’s standards, Ruben’s baroque visions are ones of pure corporeal joy, promising the viewer with indulgence pleasures of the flesh as they have so obviously and habitually indulged.
Before I begin my discussion, I think Michael Gill’s words best convey the overall spirit of Rubens’ work: “No one ever caught the rosy bloom of healthy skin, the shimmering quiver of well fed flesh with such lip-smacking skill. His women are displayed like great compotes of cream and exotic fruits from the Indies—kumquats and soursops and apricots, the flesh of melons and oranges from Seville.” The secret to Rubens’ painting is that the people, although heavy, look healthy and strong, and this is one of the strongest messages anyone should get from this blog, that being beautiful means, first and foremost being healthy, and that pursuing the latter will almost always yield the former.
That Rubens’ figures are meant to be desirable is seen from the prominence of mythico-erotic themes, such as in this painting of Leda and the Swan, one of the many disturbing stories of Zeus’ seduction of mortals and nymphs. As significant and commonplace as this story is, it is always a disconcerting subject to see portrayed. Rubens’ painting is especially perverse, because it leaves very little to the imagination. Leda is pretty clearly astride the swan, which is also tenderly nibbling her lip. What recommends Rubens’ nymph is the healthy glow of her skin, contrasted sharply against the dun of the swan and the rich red of the cloth behind her, but also the pale white of the sheet. Ample thighs and stomach contrast with relatively small breasts in this lusciously curvaceous figure.
Rubens’ Venus is different from most we have seen. More corpulent than the classical norm, the primary erotic association of the figure is in her back and her face. The breasts are erased as an erotic focus. Unlike classical figures as well as the paintings of Waterhouse and Parrish, Rubens’ Venus has a soft, round chin, although her nose is well-defined against the frame of the mirror and in the reflection. The reflection carries an invitation to the viewer to watch her in the knowing expression of her eyes and just the faintest glimmer of a smile threatening to appear on her red lips. The way the entire painting draws our eyes again and again to the reflection forces us to identify the goddess of love and beauty primarily with her face, reminding us that beauty is as much an attitude of the mind as an attribute of the body.
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