Outside courtyard at the Musée D’Orsay in Paris. Nothing new under the sun. Paul Goldfinger ©. Tri-X collection. Click on image to enlarge.
The Musée D’Orsay is an art museum on the Left Bank in Paris. It has a large collection of Impressionistic and Post-Impressionistic masterpieces.
Those bare breasted women in the image above, probably early 20th century beauties, are relaxing in the Paris sunshine, proudly displaying their loveliness. And the other three women, the warm blooded variety of today, are enjoying their company without evident embarrassment.
The photograph above shows that nothing changes—that everything old is new again.
PETER ALLEN
The French have always valued nudity in art. It goes back to the Renaissance when Michelangelo in 1504, regarding his sculpture of the naked ” David” said, “What spirit is so empty and blind, that it cannot recognize the fact that the foot is more noble than the shoe, and skin more beautiful than the garment with which it is clothed?”
After the French Revolution, the nude female body became an iconic feature representing the new freedoms of the Revolution. Even today, bare breasted women are seen sunning themselves while on their lunch break on the banks of the Seine; and certainly on the beaches.
I don’t suppose one would hear much about “objectification” of women in France, unless, of course, the “art” is to diminish or exploit women, as in pornography.
On Blogfinger we do value and celebrate the intrinsic beauty of women, especially in our portraits and our “girls in their summer clothes” series.
Museé D’Orsay has a wonderful Impressionistic collection of paintings. It was my delight to spend time there, to see the great artist’s works.
Lynn A.