Wednesday, May 29, 2019

In Pursuit of Beauty

This week's installment from my book Notes on the Nude touches upon the pursuit of beauty, which in turn involves my endless search for models. 

A hundred and fifty years ago artists in Paris had the advantage of a weekly model market from which they could pick and choose. Alas, there is no such market on my island of Dominica but a like Rodin, Renoir and scores of artists from the past I have found many of my best models serving behind the counter in a five and ten cents store. 

When I looked in at one such store this morning I didn't find what wanted to buy - I've even forgot what it was - but I did find the attractive young lady pictured below. She is now on my list of potential models.




Irving Berlin beautifully expressed the virtuous attraction of an attractive young lady in his lyrics for the score of the 1920's Broadway Revue "Ziegfeld Follies".

A pretty girl is like a melody
That haunts you night and day
Just like the strain
Of a haunting refrain

She'll start upon a marathon and run around your brain...

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