Here we have two views of the same ample model. I love the full form, the generous curves of her soft body. In drawing her the result is almost iconic, the nude often seen in old masters' paintings. Some times described as resembling a musical instrument, a cello rather than a flute!
Even though just sketches, these two drawings demonstrate what many artists like about working with the female figure. All those simple spherical shapes flowing lines moving together point up the power of unity. In a previous post I spoke of repetition and variation providing order in a composition. Here it is, naturally occurring in the subject itself, emphasized in the way it is drawn.
These figures are certainly not reflective of current fashion where elongation of the basic structure is the norm. I think I'd find it unsatisfying to draw a high fashion model nude. I appreciate the power of those ultra thin figures to show off designer fashions and I certainly endorse the medical world's recommendation of a strong spare figure as a step toward total health but still, when it comes to the production of art, many an artist will opt for these "ripe" figures rather than those of sinew and bone. I'd much rather have a full figured Gaston LaChaise bronze in my garden than one of Alberto Giacometti's super-attenuated stick figures. More human, N'est Pas?
"Whatever is not eternal is eternally out of date." C. S. Lewis
"If Botticelli were alive today he'd be working for Vogue." Peter Ustinov
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