Detail from Sandro Botticelli's 1485 "Birth of Venus."
If you haven't already seen this fabulous U-tube video, "Portraits of Women in Art," of classic beauties from art history morphing into each other, check it out here. The lovelies were painted by Leonardo, Botticelli, Raphael, Cranach, Gainsborough, Goya, Boucher, Rubens, Courbet, Manet, Ingres, Burne-Jones, Renoir, Matisse, Cassatt, Gibson, Dali, Modigliani, Picasso and more. Acompanied by Yo-Yo Ma playing Bach's "Sarabande from Suite for solo cello, No. 1 in G Major." Elegant eye-candy and a charming, 3 minute diversion.
(Note: The same source has a series of paintings also called "Women in Art" that's a bit of a clunker, full of saccarine love scenes and kitchy Victorian nudies. Not good. Go for the sublime portrait heads.)
