Théo van Rysselberghe, Belgian
“Oh, Did the Modeling Agency Not Tell You? Yeah, This Is All You Get With the Basic Plan. If You Want The Whole Shebang, You’ll Have To Upgrade To Platinum,” 1916
Oil on canvas
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/// Théo’s model, a Seated Nude (Maude),
tried to modestly cover her bod.
Maude’s not overly broad
for her time; she’s not flawed,
she was just sick of painters who pawed.
/// Men who knew her were mad about Maude.
She had talents and skills they would laud.
(Not from things she had gnawed
was she called “iron-jawed.”)
Any time spent with Maude left men awed.
/// The male artist, at first, had cajoled
her to stand there, full-frontal and bold.
She did pose in the raw,
but she “wore” a hand-bra
by convincing the man she felt cold.
/// Though today, Maude might seek to lose weight,
men in her day would say she looks great.
Ideal bodies and faces
hinge on which times and places
we were born. Not just diet… it’s fate!