I’m such an Art Addict, and if you’re reading my blog, I suspect you are one too :) I love to share inspiring art from across all media, so let’s kick off this recurring blog feature with a sculpture I think is utterly sublime. While in Paris this summer, I came upon this sculpture at the Musee D’Orsay, which stopped me in my tracks, and I think I actually gasped.
I could have photographed this woman all day long – perfection from all angles. Unfortunately, taking pics at Musee D’Orsay is not allowed, and I typically respect that policy. Til now. I just had to snap this pic to share this pose with you, and I did so swiftly and from my hip, praying it was in focus. And then I ran, hahahaa. Not graceful, but I got the shot for you to see.
I am in love with this salute to a woman’s hips! To make the hip bone the pinnacle of the artwork is such a feat, and while making the woman look relaxed and seductive is even more impressive. Her left hand is so erotic, and I love all the details from her single braid, delicate armband of her robe, and her bigger second toe! Part of me actually wants to coach her a bit more… “take your right hand up and brush it through your hair and turn your head to the left…” or is it just me?
I’d love to hear what you love/don’t-love about this pose. Do you think she looks relaxed and seductive or awkward? Would you change anything, like that right arm?
And to inspire you even further, I’m doing a GIVEAWAY!.. a GORGEOUS glass bottle of yummy Grappa straight from my summer in Italy! PLUS my latest extra hot product: THE MONEY SHOTS™ – a set of my Top Ten Bestselling and super inspiring poses and ideas for you to capture with enormous success every single time!
To win, LEAVE A COMMENT by Monday Oct. 24th 12pm EST with your thoughts regarding this pose!
***UPDATE: The Winner of THE MONEY SHOTS™ and a bottle of Grappa is… Kyle Vincent Thomas – Congrats! Our Studio Manager will email you details on how to collect :)
Bonne chance!
Christa
ps. winner chosen using random.org and selected Monday Oct. 24th 12pm EST.
pps. you know I’m totally going to do this pose on my next shoot! Stay tuned… :)
I love the pose. Think it’s great as is there, would probably have had the face turned forward a bit more facing the front.
But still love the pose!
Ok, so let’s just get this out of the way now…I LOVE this post. It is so much fun to see where a true artist finds her inspiration and this sculpture is just that; an inspiration. It certainly does not hurt that you found it in one of my most favorite museums either. I love how real, natural and beautiful she is. Thank you for sharing your art and muse with us.
Ha ha! I do the same thing! The Metropolitan museum of art has some amazing statues I love too! But this one is a total find! Beautiful and graceful….
So, while this is as close to perfection as one could hope for…my tweaks would address the nearly perfect arch line of the body which is interrupted by the position of the left foot. If you follow the line of the body the foot sort of throws the line up at the very end, which I think is a bit distracting. In fact when I first looked at it, my eyes quickly went to the foot, which is not and should NOT be the focus in that position. So, I’d have her gently arch the foot and point the toes just a bit to smooth that line.
The second thing is about the hair – I’d have swept it towards the camera beneath her head to showcase the flowing waves there – which in turn emulate the curves of her body.
That’s it!
Perfect shot from the hip by the way! LOL! Thank you for sharing.
Best,
Susan
I think this pose is sooo beautiful! It’s very elegant and soft at the same time. Can’t wait to see a picture that you did with this pose!
I’d change her right hand to be palm down; not completely flat, but sort of bracing her as if she’s arching from a certain sensation, not because of what she’s lying on.
(BTW… I’m not a photographer, but I’m a huge fan of your site.)
I love the pose and it’s incredibly seductive! My only tweaks would be maybe to tilt her face slightly more toward the camera. Definitely an elegant pose and I can’t wait to see your take on it in a future session!
I Love this pose because its such an experience pose. Its something you do yourself when you are felling free and comfortable. I can feel the sensation of the pose myself, I believe that is the allure in its expression.
Beautiful Choice Christa!
I had never thought to shoot the sculptures till seeing your blog when you first got to Italy it has inspired me to do so and now look forward to my next trip to the Getty Villa! I love the openess of her chest lifting to the sky very sensual
I think it’s perfect the way it is! From the hips, to the arm and hand position, the tilt of her chin and serene expression. Even love the bend of her toe. Adds a touch of playfulness to it.
I can’t wait to see your take on it…
I feel that this pose is all about surrender. This woman is offering her whole body to the viewer with her hips being the focal point. I find her left hand awkward in it’s placement. Although the hand is beautiful and feminine in it’s own right(actually one of my favorite parts of the scupture, it looks as though she doesn’t quite know what to do with it. I would like to see the left arm thrown back over her head to further emphasize the total surrender of this woman; “Take me…take all of me! I surrender to my lust”.
I totally LOVE the pose! very interesting to see where other photographers find their inpiration.
p.s. I loved the Musée d’Orsay… I bought the book presenting their collections to bring some inspiration back home :-)
I love taking inspiration from art. This pose is fantastic but I would tweak it for the camera. I would like eye contact or at the very least more of her face. Also, the closest arm seems really static. So I would adjust it to give it more fluidity. I have no four whatever you chose to do will not only be fab but will scream “Christa”. :)
I loved waking up to such beautiful inspiration!
I do think the pose looks a little awkward, but not at first look. The right hand almost makes the pose look a little bit more natural… like she just happened to lay down. If she were running her hand through her hair like you might suggest, then I think it would take this pose to a much ‘sexier’ level. Thank you so much!
I love the grace in the curve of her hip.
I love it! I would have put her right hand in her hair a bit, just barely kinda playing with the braid.
I love this sculpture. To me is the woman is in a vulnerable position- exposing herself completely (inside and out). She is willing placing herself in this position for the pleasure and delight of her lover and for her satisfaction.
Yes! Love this statue…. The only thing I might improve upon is her head/ neck. It looks a little cramped so perhaps if she was able to open her neck up a little….but love the whole line of her body. It is extremely sensuous and guides the eye beautifully to that gorgeous hip and of course her hooha! :-)
:::Split screens – coffee in hand, and mouth wide open:::
This is such a beautiful sight, staring is in order! I LOVE the concave of a woman’s hips, the natural shadow there is nothing but elegant! I think she looks relaxed, if she were a client I may do the following slight adjustments..
- head back so slightly, and turned towards me
- right foot extended just a tad (to soften up the right knee)
- fingers on right hand curled up just a smidge.
Mahalo for the exercise Christa! Great way to get my mind working – CREATIVELY – first thing in the morning!
This is a gorgeous sculpture and while her stone boobies defy gravity I wonder what this position might do to chi chi’s made of flesh. I am going to try it with someone of a less endowed nature and report back. I know for sure mine would be under my chin and around my ears, not soo pretty ;>
Love the lines in this image so much. Elegant and do beautiful! Thanks for sharing!
OMG!!! Christa, thank you for this picture! I gasped too when I opened your email – heehee. What a great way to start the morning – mmmmmmm. You cracked me up when you shared how you took it – lol. You also made my day by describing her as having a bigger second toe – WooHoo!!! (cause I do!)
Her position with her right arm laying straight out and her head tilting to the right to see her subject (I’m thinking to-be-lover) appears to me to mean her full submission to him. As if she is saying, “I love you, I am ready. Take me.” – but for the first time.
Her shape is exquisite, and she looks like she could next be run her right hand through her hair and turn her head like you said, and then lay on her back and over-arch it, looking back, then eyes closed as she bends her left knee upward, slightly straightening the right leg – just slightly – like what a female dancer looks like when she is lifted up over a male dancer’s head from the curve of her back. (Okay, I was a long time ballet dancer, so I am starting to see where this is going for me – heehee.)
Christa, thank you so much for this! I am dedicating November to fine art nudes and boudoir. Just need to get passed a darn exam. xoxo Raquel
I missed going to Musee D’Orsay the last time I was in Paris, but now I really want to go to see this statue, she truly is beautiful! :)
How I love that you you experience this piece, among other things, as a tribute to a womans’ hips, what a wonderful concept to have as you are in the process of photographing her, as a tribute to any part or all of her. Divine!
I would extend the fingers of her left hand slightly so there is more of a feel of a caress on her body. I might explore having the head arching back a bit, although that would change the pose from one of repose to something else more active , perhaps more erotic. I would play with different levels of the hip arch too, play with the right arm a bit and I would walk around her!!! I’m dying to see what she looks like from the back!!
Thank you so much for your ideas and generosity in sharing and for your stealth shooting at the Musee D’Orsay
I agree! She is so completely gorgeous, and it makes me want to get into the pose myself :) You are such an inspiration to me, Christa; thank you for all that you share with us!
I think it looks more like she just finished a love making session and he just got up off her and the platform.
Tweaks I would do would be to bring her right foot out from behind so it doesn’t look amputated.
I would bring her left arm up over her forehead to complete the line and not make the hand disembodied and tilt the head up and to her right, turning her face more toward the camera, but up, to get the line of the neck to be more graceful and remove the scrunched look.
I agree with KG’s reply, it just seams to me that she was left there right after her love making session, not the most comfortable position but yes a beautiful work of art.
I love this post and this pose!
I might go try it myself right now…
I’d tell her to keep the same angle of her face & head but let her head hang back just a bit (to see the length of her neck) & to bring her left hand forward to drape over her belly keeping soft fingers (for more sensuality)…
For me she is totally comfortable, (or the box would not be her choice to lay on)…it tells me she just had sex and is ready for more, wanting more. “do it again, baby” Moving the right arm/hand to the hair would have told me she was inticing someone to have sex with her or just feeling horny on her own, in anticipation not satisfaction. The way it lays shows me it is spent. So ditto with the face, she is hardly searching to see something, she is lost in the delicious afterglow and we can all feel it. Thanks for sharing. Gotta go get my man.
I love your inspiration source! I too ( as you suspected) love the world of art, and love the idea of using the historical master’s work as a posing inspiration.
I love this pose, the arc of her body is beautiful, the length of her of her body so relaxed, yet her torso slightly turned to show her breast and hips off so well.
The use of her robe/dress having fallen off in a natural way with just a little left on her upper arm is a a lovely way of showing nudity in a almost natural way like her robe had just fallen aside.
The right arm laying beside her in the languid manner just for me acts as such a relaxed element which soothes the slightly seemingly uncomfortable pose.
I would have loved to see her face turned upwards lengthening her neck slightly. But it’s almost as if the sculptor has caught her in mid movement which is wonderful in itself.
Thank you so much for the inspiration source idea. I’m just making a shift into more nude photography, from a more Boudoir vein of styling. But I want to do it artfully. This will help greatly. Thank you so much.
Signed me… An admirer of your work!
I feel like this image is how women really want to feel: free and seductive. When it comes to my relationship with my husband, I feel like allowing him to see me for who I am while being vulnerable says something about the confidence one has to have in order to pose in such an amazing way. As artists, we have to be willing to really translate this to our clients in a way that they feel like they are seducing their own lover and not the photographer.
Amazing inspiration Christa!
I think the pose (and the woman) are beautiful! I’m not sure that I like the flat square box thing she’s laying on…kinda takes away from the beautiful curves of the woman.
Christa,
You picked a good one. It’s a beautiful sculpture. THOSE HIPS!!! I think I’ll use it in one of my next paintings. Can’t go wrong with a triangular composition.
Even though it is an exaggerated pose with the twist in the torso and stretched muscles, the artist has made the figure look relaxed, sexy, erotic, and pure.
I don’t think anything needs changing, but I might play with the positioning of the head and the left hand, as long as it wouldn’t take the focus away from the hips and torso.
Wow, I’m stuck on this sculpture now. I’ve have to sketch it.
What an artist can do with a block of marble always astounds me! I spent an inordinate amount of time admiring Canova’s statue of Pauline at the Villa Borghese once too – another fantastic boudoir inspiration for me.
As a sculpture, I think it’s perfect. As a boudoir shot, I would bend her right arm up so that she gently holds on to the platform. This would lead the eye back to the important stuff (!) and also would make her a little more alive. As languorous as it is, it does feel a bit lifeless to me. That arm reminds me of the David painting of the Death of Marat.
Thanks for the creative start to the day… I’ve got a boudoir client coming in a few hours and this is a good jolt along with the coffee!
oh, you rule breaker!!
First, what a gorgeous piece of sculpture. I also love that it’s an homage to a woman’s power center–the pelvis and hips.
I think the pose looks relaxed, perhaps post-bliss? I’d coach her more on her legs than her right arm–I want that left knee bent a little more. I’m not a huge fan of armpit, and from this angle if her right hand were in her hair chances we’d be looking straight at it. So maybe I’d coach her to touch her body with that right hand instead. However, that might cause an interruption of the gorgeous line of her body.
I’m going to coach a pose like this in my boudoir party on Saturday!
What a good idea for inspiration, I’d never thought of looking at art for inspiration and I went to art college! I love this pose, especially the softness of her hands as hands can always look so awkward I find. I’m not a big fan of the armpit shot either but I think if she bent her right arm a little and just brushed her cheek the armpit shot would maybe be avoided. I love the long beautiful curve of her body though.
Toes, I think they could be positioned a bit better, though, I might be wrong- from that angle it’s hard to say. I agree the left hand is great. I think it’s a great pose but might be somewhat uncomfortable… She looks “well loved” to steal expression from some romance I’ve read once ;) Good luck with the shoot. Nice hip shot BTW ;)
i love the pose…even the right arm. :)
I love the gorgeous triangle her body creates. My neck hurts just looking at the pose though – it looks so uncomfortable. Probably just feel this way because I woke up with a sore neck. LOL
Mmm, beautiful image. It is such an intriguing pose because it isn’t sexy in a direct way…to me she looks innocent, vulnerable and maybe even exhausted. I feel voyeuristic looking at it, like she doesn’t know I’m there. I think that changing the pose would change the mood, and even though I probably wouldn’t use this pose in a boudoir shoot (I might have her running her right hand through her hair and have her lift her chin up and to the left, creating a little more of a profile), I wouldn’t change a thing here. xoxo
Effortless sensuality at it’s best! I love the lines her curves make and all the while displaying that feeling of calm relaxed comfort.
The only thing I that catches me a bit off guard is her neck. Imagining myself in that position I invision a double chin, slight head ache and my voice sounding a bit awkward since my neck is pinched lol.
I might suggest either propping up her shoulders so that angle is softer or dropping her head back(chin up a bit) so the arch of her body is complete and her neck is more exposed. Then I’d just ask her to close those eyes and turn her face a bit more towards me and play with that sheet wrapped around her arm. Even if nothing changed I would LOVE to shoot this ;-p. Thanks for sharing!
I love this sculpture! I would love to see her look up and away a little bit, and perhaps her left hand fingers tracing the hip bone. I also liked the suggestions of arching her left foot/pointing the toes, as well as augmenting the right hand so it’s not so flat. Love to see what you do!
This sculpture is absolutely breathtaking. The pose speaks so much of boudoir: seduction, confidence, strength, and beauty all while highlighting the feminine form. Can’t wait to see one of your gorgeous models in this pose.
Christa,
I agree with everyone and I am glad that you break the rules in more ways than one!
The pose to me represents, as one of your previous commenters, said total surrender or desolation. It is a completely relaxed pose on a very angular and hard base. It represents to me the way most of us live now, even when we are relaxing we are still at hard work in our minds and thoughts.
The pose is beautiful and in it’s context I would not change anything. Your suggestions and thoughts are good for a photos session though and particularly if you want to add a sensual touch to it.
You do beautiful work of a nature I find for myself hard to do. You though revel in it! Thank you for sharing your work and in particular this post.
Mike Young
I love this sculpture. I love the fact that it is centered on the pelvic area since that’s obviously where we carry a baby and then delivery one. To me its about the importance of women in society and how we are the ones with the important task of carrying babies. The thing I would change are the way the head is facing. I would pose it more towards the camera so that her gorgeous facial features could be seen as well. But…overall a very beautiful statue.
Oh…and what a great way to break the rules. :)
It’s beautiful!! Can’t wait to try it out.
So inspirational! Love this post! Reminds me so much of the amazing summer I had. My first reaction was, you can’t take pictures there? I’m so glad you did!!! To comment on the pose, LOVE it but to me her neck seems a little uncomfortable. I agree, move the left hand up in her hair and move her face so you don’t see the neck as much? I think I may try this on one of my girls this weekend. Thanks for the idea!
OHH Christa!! – Thank YOU for sharing this image with us. Thank you for the risks you took to take this incredible image too – its SO well WORTH IT!! This is one of the sexiest image I have ever seen!! IT IS SO BEAUTIFUL!!!! OH.MY.GOD.!!! Who would think this extraordinary pose could work so damn **$$##!!! well!!!. But its a pose in honour of the female body – vive la Woman!
What one learns from this incredible pose, is: Be creative. Be creative in the poses that you choose; that you create – Show off the Woman you are. Be proud.
Thanks again, wonderful woman Christa for sharing. You are fundabadobie!!!
I can’t stop staring at this sculpture! It’s so amazing!!! Thanks for the spy photo! ;)
What I like is that she doesn’t feel posed. She looks very organic and natural. I stood back from my monitor, and she almost looks real. A very fine work.
I LOVE this! Its so seductive without being “in your face” I wouldn’t change the right arm. Its how she would be laying in real life. She looks like she’s with someone she totally trusts. And that always makes for the best sex! :)
It reminds me of the Pieta sculpture. It is almost like she is saying goodbye to her lover. Either she lost her lover in battle or she herself is dying, I am not sure. Or maybe a Romeo and Juliet scenario. I like there to be mystery involved…
I love this! The curves of her body, her relaxed expression. The only adjustment I would make would be to turn her head a little to me and move her hair out. But It is perfect the way it is .
Great articles. I love the pose. The one thing I would like to see is her hand on her side with her finger pointed toward her navel or pelvis. It’s a great piece of work and thank you for sharing it. I’m interested in seeing your version.
I strongly believe that every photographer should study all type of art for inspiration. The Italian Renaissance artist are especially inspirational and their work is even more impressive when seen in person. I encourage every photographer to visit, on a regular basis, art galleries, museums, your website, and other art sites on the internet for inspiration.
Thank you for sharing.
This is absolutely breathtaking! After studying this sculpture I decided to actually try this pose. We carefully set up the pose being careful to have the foot area rest lower than the head and guessed as best we could the other dimensions Visiting my daughter in college this weekend we had several of her friends carefully duplicate this pose. What fun we had! The oohs and aahs and chuckles! But most of all we learned a few things!
My daughter Raquel at 5’10″ actually loved the pose as it is. Leaving the right arm straight with the back/side of the land down was more natural and comfortable than palm facing down. With the
Continued……..
With her palm facing completely down her elbow did not feel relaxed. Also leaving her toes on the left foot slightly relaxed as opposed to pointing the foot felt much more natural. We collectively liked the look with the left hand placed as the sculpture versus other positions. The left elbow down helped balance her back.
Next was Marissa at 5’4″. Not knowing how tall the sculpture model was, we found Marissa having to adjust her hips to finally get comfortable to duplicate the sculpture. Finally we adjusted the prop under her hips about an inch lower Nd she found her comfort. Interesting how we discovered quickly that the model’s height was a definite factor!
In all 5 of us, myself included, experimented with the pose and other adjustments (right arm bent up by hair, palm up, head tilted more, etc).
Sum it all up? After actually trying the pose we LOVED the artists form. This pose also looks gorgeous from the back side due to the face slightly turned up and left arm bent at the side making it more erotic!!
This piece is perfection and truly something to behold!
We all had fun eating Thai afterwards which made for a memorable experience! Thank you Christa for your inspiration!!!
I love the pose. I wouldn’t change the sculpture a bit. However, not sure my breasts would stay that perky hanging upside down, hehe.
Great find!
I feel like her right knee is jutting out a bit too much, it’s breaking the line her body is making. I’d straighten that leg a bit. And her neck looks awkward, I’d have her looking up so her face was in profile and lift her chin up to elongate her neck.
It’s beautiful to see this statue – thanks for sharing it! I would change the head position to look up or towards the camera. It would be interesting to see this statue from other vantage points, as I wonder if this would change my mind about the pose?
I love the pose. The only thing I’m not crazy about is the left had just ‘poking up’ at her waist. It almost looks like it’s pointing at me. But otherwise it’s great.
Sascha
I love how relaxed this pose is. My minor adjustments: I would push her chin up so that she’s on the crown of her head, and either bring the right hand up to her shoulder or collarbone, or push it to the top of her thigh with her fingers laying flat.
It is a shame that you can no longer take photos at the Musee D’Orsay. Between it and the Rodin Museum, it is hard to say which is my favorite in Paris. I spent a lot of time over there in 2005-06. You couldn’t take flash photography, but you could at least take photos.
I love the contrast between the soft curves of the woman’s body and the hard lines of the stone block she rests upon creating the angular thrust of the hips skyward.
Really, the only thing that I do not like about the sculpture is the plaque at the front. I find that it breaks up the line of the base and distracts from the whole of the piece. However, it is a very minor distraction.
This reminds me of another piece in the museum.
Femme piquée par un serpent [Woman Bitten by a Snake] by Auguste Clésinger, which I have a few photos of.
I’ve always admired the immense physical & artistic talent that’s required to create a sculpture like this one. This sculpture is absolutely sublime!! I want to run my hands over it! It seems sensual and more than slightly uncomfortable at the same time. Love the lines, and hips and her left hand…amazing. However, it feels like if she were to remain in that pose for any amount of time… Her neck would be very uncomfortable. I’d love to see more movement in her right hand/ arm…I think btwn the angle of her head & placement of her right arm… I get a somewhat lifeless feel from it??
I want to play with this pose in my next shoot : )
SO powerful. I can’t wait to see how you implement this in your shoot Christa!
Love it! Looks like she just had been f**ked and was laying back to rest and catch her breath.
I think the pose looks very relaxed and I’m sure you’re image will look Beautiful….I can’t wait to see it.
Hi Christa,
I also LOVE the pose..sometimes my best poses are those done naturally, just relaxing. I love her hips, hands and her feet!! (my 2nd toe is also longer..sign of beauty)..
If the box she was laying on wasn’t so high in the middle, you could still get that arch, and her neck wouldn’t look so uncomfortable.
I love that inspiration comes from everywhere! Studying classic sculptures like this can lead us to new ideas and creativity. Thanks for sharing!
Best,
Mike
I LOVE this pose. I would like to try it. The challenge I see here is in setting it up. I am not sure what I would put together for the base of the pose. Maybe a wedge on the bed, covered in sheets? Also I might take her left hand and bring it more to the hip, showing some arm as well. If the client was showing lines/wrinkles on her neck from having her head that way, I would have her look up instead. Beautiful and can’t wait to try it!
This makes me think about how this was their boudoir photography prior to photography.
I agree, the right hand kind of reminds me of a dead fish laying there! I would in fact love to see her hand in her hair, maybe pushing it up a little to give it a tasseled look, and her face tilted towards the camera with some big baby blues saying hello!
I also think the right hand gently clasped on the edge of the box, face turned toward camera would look beautiful too.
In regards to the way the head is posed on the sculpture; I think some women would get a not-so-adorable double chin if their face was angled down at themselves like that.
I would love to have a shot were the camera lens is parallel with her hip, following the lines of her side to her beautiful face, using a big open aperture, like a 1.8. Still such a beautiful sculpture, and what a treat for you!
Avoir et Merci! ;)
My eye makes quick triangle shapes looking over this pose. Having the arm where it is creates that dance for the eye, makes me want to walk around her (as great sculpture should!)and see other angles. I completely agree with the suggestion of the head position to the left, she’d appear more relaxed. As it is the back of the head appears to take a lot of the weight of the body. I Love the line of the hips vs. the line of the shoulders creating a slight twist and setting up that top hip to seduce the viewer. I’ve had the same reaction as you in museums when the work of an artist has the power to stop the breath in your lungs and hold you – beauty is powerful! Thanks for celebrating beauty with your camera!LOVE,LOVE,LOVE your work!!
Lisa
First, let me say that I absolutely love the sculpture pose. Who is it done of? What was she (the model) thinking when she lay there? Is this a figment of the artist’s mind or what is the story?
I love the hips and how the pose naturally let’s them spread apart. The breasts on a woman can look amazing at this angle, but I think it depends what size one is. I’m a 34FF and all I know is, when I lay down…. THEY lay down, so I’m not sure if this would be the best pose for me or a woman with my breast size. I do enjoy the right arm, but think it could look great other ways too. However, the neck position looks terribly uncomfortable, and capturing a photo where she looks comfortable would be of great emphasis for me.
It just seams to me that she was left there right after her love making session, not the most comfortable position but yes a beautiful work of art.
Hi Meola,
I you send me your E-Mail address I will send you some other views of the above Alexandre Schoenewerk sculpture.
Regards
BRIAN