To me, springtime in Wellington means a glory of magnolia blossoms in the suburb of Thorndon and the botanical gardens, an obsession I share with noted NZ artist Rita Angus. The magnolias were at their absolute peak when Theresa and I visited the gardens last Friday, and some of the best photographs were taken against the serene mauve petals, or in the dappled shade of the twisting branches.
Impressionism is famous for capturing the mood of scenes, and the nuances of everyday life, so it’s no surprise that many impressionist artists were inspired by the most ordinary, but intimate moments of life: the act of getting dressed. The most famous Impressionist painting depicting underwear doesn’t show quite such an ordinary scene. Manet’s Nana looks sweet enough, but subtle clues in the painting reveal her identity as a courtesan. I love how you see the rounded stomach, and the flesh of her thighs bumping up below the corset. It’s so realistic, despite the glamour of the setting. I wonder if ‘Before the Mirror’ shows the same model, and the same corset, as Nana? It’s certainly a possibility. I love how this one echoes the garter tying in Boucher’s La Toilette De Witte’s painting does a good job of showing an underbust corset, and the way the bust sits above it. Degas work is a great illustration of how you put on a corset. The model must have had someone to help her with …
As we all know, I’m really into Greek keys. My current Greek key obsession is these evening boots: *Swoon* I lurve them. Everything about them. The red heels. The invisible side lacing. The curlicues between the Greek key borders. The way the Greek keys turn on the toes. The stripe up the front. Happiness. There is a stripe up the back too. Happiness. It’s more of a platonic lurve from afar though. Like the way you drool over a hot celebrity, but actually don’t want to meet them in person and would just blush and freak out and disappear yourself if they showed up in person and approached you. I like the idea of the shoes, but really, I couldn’t handle them in person. It’s just too much shoe for me.
