Marie Claire UK Marie Claire UK
  • Fashion Fashion
      • Fashion
        • View all Fashion
        • Fashion Trends
        • Shopping
        • Watches and Jewellery
        • Fashion News
  • Beauty Beauty
      • Beauty
        • View all Beauty
        • Fragrance
        • Hair
        • Make Up
        • Skincare
        • Nails
        • Marie Claire Beauty Awards
  • Health Health
      • Health
        • View all Health
        • Fitness
        • Nutrition
        • Female Health
        • Wellbeing
  • Life Life
      • Life
        • View all Life
        • Opinions
        • Travel
        • Sustainability
        • Weddings
        • Money & Work
        • Competitions
  • Culture Culture
      • Culture
        • View all Culture
        • TV and Film
        • Celebrity News
        • Books
        • Royal News
  • Vouchers Vouchers
      • Clothing
        • View all Vouchers
        • Mint Velvet
        • Karen Millen
        • H&M
        • nobody's child
        • ASOS
        • ARKET
        • MANGO
      • Designer Clothing
        • View all Vouchers
        • Reiss
        • THE OUTNET
        • SSENSE
        • Mytheresa
        • Liberty London
        • Selfridges
        • Farfetch
      • Accessories
        • View all Vouchers
        • AllSaints
        • Aspinal of London
        • Charles & Keith
        • River Island
        • FitFlop
        • Kate Spade
        • Vagabond
      • Jewellery
        • View all Vouchers
        • Pandora
        • Abbott Lyon
        • Goldsmiths
        • Beaverbrooks
        • Astrid & Miyu
        • Swarovski
        • Angara Jewellery
      • Beauty
        • View all Vouchers
        • Sephora
        • Cult Beauty
        • Space NK
        • Dyson
        • Clarins
        • Look Fantastic
        • Clinique
      • Activewear
        • View all Vouchers
        • Lululemon
        • Gymshark
        • Sweaty Betty
        • Nike
        • adidas
        • New Balance
        • Helly Hansen
  • NEWSLETTER Signup to our newsletter
  • logoCreated with Sketch.
    Marie Claire Newsletter

    Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!


    By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

    You are now subscribed

    Your newsletter sign-up was successful


    An account already exists for this email address, please log in.
    Trending
    • Women in Sport 2026
    • Marie Claire Masters
    • Autumn Winter 2026
    • Nail Trends 2026
    • Best Investment Bags
    • Best Perfumes
    • Digital Issues
    • Women Who Win
    1. Culture

    Artist challenges today's obsession with being skinny

    An Italian artist is challenging the notions of skinny ideals by reimagining nudes in famous paintings

    By Marie Claire
    Published 13 March 2012 In Reports

    When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

    Artist challenges skinny ideals
    Artist challenges skinny ideals
    (Image credit: Anna Utopia Giordano)
    • Facebook
    • X
    • Pinterest
    Share this article
    Join the conversation
    Follow us
    Add us as a preferred source on Google
    Subscribe to our newsletter

    An Italian artist is challenging the notions of skinny ideals by reimagining nudes in famous paintings

    An Italian artist is challenging the notions of skinny ideals by reimagining nudes in famous paintings.

    In a collection entitled 'Venus,' artist Anna Utopia Giordano has taken a series of famous nude paintings and photoshopped them so that they reach today's notions of ideal beauty.

    According to Giordano: 'The model of beauty has evolved through human history, from the greek proportions of Policleto of Argos to the busty beauty of the Renaissance, leading up to the slender body of Twiggy and the contemporary athletic stars. What would have happened if the aesthetic standard of our society had belonged to the collective unconscious of the great artists of the past?'

    Cabanel's 'The Birth Of Venus,' Bronzino's 'Venus, Cupid, Folly And Time' and Velazquez's 'Venere e Cupido' are just some of the masterpieces that have been given a modern makeover.

    You may like
    • Lorna Simpson Beauty, Protest and Power: These Are the Women Leading the Way at the Venice Biennale 2026
    • AI Edited My Face Without Asking: Side by side comparison of my face before and after inputting into AI I Asked AI to Add a Dog to My Photo. What It Did to My Face Left Me Unsettled
    • Female athletes crossing the finish line at a track and field event Why We Should Care About Sexualisation in Women's Sport—and How It’s Bigger Than Sydney Sweeney

    The retouched paintings have added fresh fuel to the already controversial debate about modern notions of beauty.

    So what do you think? Let us know your views in the box below!

    Marie Claire Newsletter

    Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!

    By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

    MORE FASHION NEWS

    Marie Claire
    Social Links Navigation

    The leading destination for fashion, beauty, shopping and finger-on-the-pulse views on the latest issues. Marie Claire's travel content helps you delight in discovering new destinations around the globe, offering a unique – and sometimes unchartered – travel experience. From new hotel openings to the destinations tipped to take over our travel calendars, this iconic name has it covered.

    Read more
    Lorna Simpson
    Culture Beauty, Protest and Power: These Are the Women Leading the Way at the Venice Biennale 2026
    AI Edited My Face Without Asking: Side by side comparison of my face before and after inputting into AI
    Life I Asked AI to Add a Dog to My Photo. What It Did to My Face Left Me Unsettled
     
     
    Female athletes crossing the finish line at a track and field event
    Fitness Why We Should Care About Sexualisation in Women's Sport—and How It’s Bigger Than Sydney Sweeney
    Andy Burnham and Marie-France van Heel entering 10 Downing Street
    Fashion “Are We Just Jealous?” Victoria Moss Unpacks the Sexist, Ageist Commentary Around Marie-France van Heel’s Victoria Beckham Dress
     
     
    Latest in Culture
    The best things to do this September
    Culture The Agenda: The New-Season Cultural Reset
    Notting Hill Carnival
    Culture The Agenda: How to Spend Your Finite Free Time Well This Summer
     
     
    B _ W - Woman reading book with wine in natural sunlight - TVS
    Culture 9 of Britain's 10 Bestselling Novels Begin With a Dead Woman. I Asked Authors, Literary Experts and a Criminal Behavioural Analyst Why
    Madonna's Confessions II: Madonna performs at TSX Stage in Times Square on June 4, 2026 in New York City.
    Culture Madonna's Confessions II Deserves to Be the Album of the Summer, But the Response Proves We Still Punish Women for Ageing
     
     
    Latest in Reports
    The Fertility Gold Rush
    Female health The Fertility Gold Rush — How Big Business Took Over Baby-Making
    Kansas City Chiefs NFL player Harrison Butker giving a press conference
    Life Harrison Butker's speech about women's role as "homemakers" is being widely criticised
     
     
    Online safety violence against women
    Culture “Our appetite for watching women fail does contribute to the rest of our behaviour online.”
    Oscar Pistorius leaves the North Gauteng High Court in 2016 in Pretoria, South Africa
    Life Reeva Steenkamp's mother has spoken out as Oscar Pistorius is released on parole
     
     
    logoCreated with Sketch.
    • Site Archive
    • Contact Future's experts
    • Contact us
    • Terms and conditions
    • Advertise with us
    • Privacy policy
    • Cookies policy
    • About us
    Add as a preferred source on Google Add as a preferred source on Google

    Marie Claire UK is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

    © Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.