Chad

A long time ago - right when this forum was created - I remember reading a post about Frank Frazetta, the fantasy illustrator who created paintings of curvy women (not plus-size, unfortunately, but certainly fuller than the mainstream-media standard).

Frazetta passed away this week. The L.A. Times published a good tribute to him:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/her...with-fire-.html

It exaggerates his significance a little, for example in this passage:


Frazetta is probably more closely aligned with 19th-century Orientalism, but regardless, his ideal of feminine beauty was much closer to the Renaissance than to modernity.

Here are a few of his canvasses. This one is called "Egyptian Queen":



http://i39.tinypic.com/15rcck2.jpg

The figure is not plus-size, but she is definitely soft and untoned, and has some appealing fullness at the waist, as well as curves along her side.



This one is called "King Kong." Very dramatic. The image brings out the themes of the story very effectively.



http://i40.tinypic.com/2qmlz50.jpg

Again, there is a softness at the midsection, with a curve at the abdomen. This is not a Hollywood figure, but she's glamorously beautiful, especially with the fair hair.



This is called "Captive Princess." Apparently it's an illustration for one of Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan novels. There is a definite swell of roundness at the waist, and the thighs are full.



http://i41.tinypic.com/15p05cg.jpg

Finally, I found this collection of his sketches, which show bodies with actual curves.



http://i43.tinypic.com/35d1d0i.jpg

I wish he'd drawn his figures a little fuller, closer to what a true Renaissance artist would have idealized, but it's still a refreshing alternative to what one usually sees in the media.