What if the muses of classic paintings were 'photoshopped'? [gallery]

“Venus” is the name of the series created by Italian artist Anna Utopia Giordano, which deals with the manipulation of images and current beauty standards. In this sense, the artist selected famous paintings depicting the Roman goddess of love and beauty and gave some touches with the help of Photoshop.

Using the image editor as a digital scalpel, Giordano vanished his broad hips, protruding bellies and thick thighs, making the classic Venus a model worthy of the Victoria's Secret fashion shows. The purpose of the paper was to show how image manipulation is an easy resource that transforms models and creates patterns that normal women can hardly reach.

Interestingly, Anna Giordano is also a model and an actress, chose classic Venus paintings - such as the works of Botticelli and Velázquez - to do the digital transformation. In a simple comparison of classical muses with their respective 21st century representations, it is possible to see much thinner women with altered measurements. As the hips shrink, the breasts enlarge to fit new patterns, for example.

“I was retouching some photos [...] and thinking about society, social networks and the need to be accepted. Art is always looking for the perfect form - it has evolved through history, from the classic proportions of ancient Greece to the thriving beauty of the Renaissance, the long-lived look of models like Twiggy and the athletic look of our time, ”explains the artist.

According to The Telegraph, the retouched versions of the classic Venus have given rise to a major debate on blogs and social networks in Italy. Some people considered altered paintings horrendous and others stopped to reflect on the ease with which images can be digitally manipulated.