Photo editor Lauren Wade has seen and preformed many a Photoshop retouch having worked in the industry for 5 years. A little nip there, a little tuck here, it is the standard of beauty these days to see gaunt models airbrushed to perfection. No thigh gaps, double chins or a blemish to be found…perfection. Just like a mannequin.
Yet, this was not always the case. Throughout history, and even in recent history, a size zero woman was not upheld as the norm. Going back throughout art history, famous painters from Degas, to Raphael to Botticelli depicted curvy women, with bellies and “imperfections” that the modern magazines would “fix” with some quick clicks in Photoshop.
[REWIND: THE CAMGIRL PROJECT: HOW THE FEMALE NUDE WENT FROM BEAUTY IDEAL TO TABOO {NSFW}]
To show the contemporary skewed standard in today’s beauty industry, Lauren has wielded her liquify tool to some classic works of art for a feature in TakePart Magazine. The pieces of art do show nudes so I suppose the following images may be considered NSFW(ish)…
Titian, Danaë With Eros, 1544
Sandro Botticelli, Birth of Venus, 1486
Edgar Degas, La Toilette, 1884–86
Raphael, Three Graces, 1504–1505
To see more works of art being modified to perfection, check out Lauren’s article over at TakePart.