Female elegance

Posted on December 28, 2010 by Andy Renmei

Here are some of the most brilliant works of art which, nowadays, inspire not only painters, but also photographers, models and whoever likes fine-arts paintings.

Grande Odalisque, by Ingres

This odalisque has her back elongated comparing to real-world proportions. The curtain adds for the main bent line of the composition.

A Portrait of Sarah Bernhardt, by Georges Antoine Rochegrosse

Sarah Bernhardt looks very confortable laied down wearing this beautiful dress. While smoking her cigarette, she stares at the huge eyed masks on the superior left corner.

Portrait of Sonja Knips, by Gustav Klimt

Sonia’s facial expression and body language show anxiety to me, almost as if she were expecting for Klimt’s permission to leave that chair.

Light of the Harem, by Lord Frederick Leighton

The verticality of this composition is interrupted by the implicit diagonal generated by the woman’s stare at the mirror. The mirror itself is another diagonal, perpendicular to the first one.

The Farewell, James Jacques Joseph Tissot

I think it’s pretty clear that this woman doesn’t want to say goodbye, right?

Lady in a Yellow Dress, by Max Kurzweil

The most attractive thing for me here are these wonderful tones of yellow on the dress. The woman, the sofa and the dress fit together in perfect harmony.

A Roman Matron, by John William Godward

Look at her left arm, her curved torso and her imponent but at the same time soft facial expression. The beautiful details of the peacock eyes are a mere extra for this painting…

Aphrodite, by Briton Riviere

Here we have a very explicit curve thoughout the composition which ends on Aphrodite’s hand. The detail of the animals pelage is extraordinaire!