Arnold Zwicky's Blog

On Facebook, Rebecca Brown pointed out a Mapplethorpe photograph (from 1976) of Patti Smith in (something close to) the Flandrin pose:

Compare this to Mapplethorpe’s 1981 Ajitto (here), which is very close indeed to the Flandrin original (but with a black model and with his genitals incorporated into the composition). Smith’s hands are not folded over one another, but stretched out in front of her. And, most important, Smith is gazing at us directly, rather than resting her head on her knees, with no eye contact with us. So, more like a cousin of Flandrin than a sister.

This entry was posted on May 27, 2011 at 7:07 am and is filed under Art/lit/music/film, Gender and sexuality, Photography. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.