The Astonishing Life of Nude Models, Heirs to an Artistic Tradition in Decline
Réservé aux abonnés
Every day, several hundred models strip naked in front of an audience of illustrators, in exchange for payment. This century-old profession has been neglected since the art world switched preferences from abstraction to figurative art.
When she was a student, Marie-Laure couldn't count on her parents' financial support, so she worked a succession of 'side gigs.' Her most traumatic memory is street canvassing in Paris' Place d'Italie, asking them to try out different brands of food products. "You had to have the gift of gab, and I don't at all. It was awful."
In search of a more comfortable situation, she decided to listen to a drawing teacher who had seen 'a Renoir painting' in her curvy figure, and agreed to become a live model for compensation. The principle was simple: undress and offer her naked body to an assembly of drawers, varying the poses. For Marie-Laure's mother, a rather traditional, 'uptight' type, it was a real tragedy. 'She thought it was disgusting, whereas for my father, it looked like a lot of fun,' she recalls. Even today, her family imagines her lying in an armchair, staring at the ceiling for hours on end.
À lire aussi 'There Will Be Deaths': Why French Retailers Are Sounding the Alarm on China's Temu and Shein
In reality, the supposedly bohemian life of Marie-Laure, 48, involves five hours a day in public…
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Fashion Network
6 hours ago
- Fashion Network
Elsewhere in Milan menswear: Ralph Lauren, Brioni, Corneliani, Church's
Easily the most elegant accessory display in Milan this weekend was at Church's, which welcomed people into the Piccolo Teatro Studio Melato, an avant-garde brick theater with soaring tubular galleries. Pride of place went to a 1929 Shanghai model, first acquired in Cincinnati and donated to the brand by the son of a grateful customer. Designed as a halfway house between a tasseled golf shoe and a brogue, the original Shanghai No. 1 — carefully protected in a Perspex box — even had Church's logo cut-out soles. A look that helped inspire a great new selection of devilishly aged versions of the Shanghai for today. The key to any great pair of Church's is the brand's famed factory in Northampton, the shoemaking capital of the UK. Recently renovated, the plant is also the source of new shoes made in singular pieces of leather — where the pattern of wingtips is etched by lasers. Few shoe marques anywhere can provide the patina of a pair of Church's — a fact underlined by two gents hand-finishing some classic wingtips on the stage of the theatre. One trimmed the side with small sharp knives and sandpaper; the other applied French polish and mirror gloss from Saphir. Asked how best to shine a great pair of shoes, one gently explained: 'Actually, it's best to use old white T-shirts that have been washed plenty of times. The roughness and impurity are gone, and you get a great finish.'
Le Figaro
7 hours ago
- Le Figaro
Consent, Diversity, Prevention... A Look Back on France's Sex Education Film Festival
Réservé aux abonnés Organized by the association La Fabrique d'Images, the Festival of Film on Relationships and Sex Education (Ffevas) was primarily aimed at young audiences. Its goal: to raise awareness and promote prevention through short films. The first edition of the Festival of Film on Relationships and Sex Education ('Festival du film d'éducation à la vie affective et sexuelle,' Ffevas) came to a close recently in Amiens, northern France. According to its organizers, this is a unique initiative in France, aimed at schoolchildren, but also at families and adults. The small-scale, free-to-access festival screened short films on topics such as sexual diversity, consent, STI prevention, gender identity and gender equality. Ffevas proudly describes itself on its website as 'the first French short film festival dedicated to relationships and sex education.' The films were tailored to each audience: 350 middle school students were in attendance on the first day of the festival, 350 high school students on the second, and a parent-child screening for ages 9-12 was held on the closing day. Screenings were followed by discussions with filmmakers and interactive smartphone quizzes for young participants. 'Our association already works…
LeMonde
8 hours ago
- LeMonde
When a giant Pikachu drops into a French formal garden at a 'Pokémon Go Fest'
The yellow and black pointed ears of a Pikachu cap poked out from behind a cone-shaped tree; a floppy hat shaped like the Magikarp fish seemed ready to dive into a bubbling fountain; a man in a three-piece suit in Pokémon colors strolled along the geometric flowerbeds of a classic French garden. The arrival of thousands of Pokémon Go fans at Parc de Sceaux on Friday, June 13, recalled the excitement of July 2016, when Niantic released the title and players roamed city parks and gardens searching for Pokémon to capture on their smartphones. The game's community has remained active, as demonstrated by the hosting of a Pokémon Go Fest – an outdoor event dedicated to the augmented reality game – on the grounds of a château south of Paris, as well as on the streets of the French capital. Nearly 60,000 visitors were expected between June 13 and 15, according to Niantic. Registration, priced at around €20, allowed attendees to encounter rare Pokémon and the debut of Volcanion, a new addition to the game.
