The latest column (dated November 16, 2003) can be read here. All previous columns can be found in the archive.

Venus violated

The coverages in the media of traditional art -although I rather speak of realistic or figurative art- are rare. So it was to my surprise that the Volkskrant reported on November 12th about a English society which applies itself to get recognition for the traditional nude. This is nice. However the reproduction of the winning painting arose the question: has the art world gone raving mad?

Ulla Ploughman-Turner, The woman with flame-coloured hair

The chairman of the mentioned society argued that all went wrong with the nude in 1907 as Picasso painted his Les demoiselles d'Avignon : "abject and grotesque". A rather caricatural remark, but let us have an open-minded look at the winning work (and winning means: this is the best piece of all participating pieces).

Judging by the published photo we see an apparently voluptuous mend contraption, diagonally draped over the canvas. Put in that way that both hands and feet stay out of sight. This is convenient because it is rather hard to paint these traditional parts of the body in a convincing way. The face is almost entirely covered by the Flame Coloured Hair. Again very convenient because the traditional face can also be very tricky if your aim is to paint it right. I only urgently advise the model to change her shampoo because this "Concrete-look" is rather heavy. The spot where the traditional mouth should be has gummed down with a dot of dubious lipstick. The body -and this has been painted by a female artist- shows all the characteristics of a plastic surgery that is carried through to such an extend that even the commercial network would hesitate to put it on the screen. The painting technique itself is an insult to the heavenly invention of brush and paint. Millions of amateurs will do this a million times better. Even the wishful maiden name of madam Ulla Ploughman-Turner can't change this.

Rob Møhlmann