Customer Reviews

Zaftig: The Case for Curves

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

FINALLY! As a healthy zaftig woman, I have suffered the indignities & prejudices, been on every diet known to (wo)man since 1970, only to gain more...the most gain of all with today's "low fat" theory...then flipped the coin and tried fat acceptance, subscribing to the mags and buying the books. Some help, but this fabulous look at these beautiful...no, stunning...women of art is the FIRST thing, in 30 years, that has me holding my head high and looking at my body in an entirely new way. By gosh, I think I like it! The paintings themselves say it all, the quotes and author's comments are bonuses. I can't stop looking at the Renoirs and have, in fact, ordered several prints that will be proudly displayed prominently in my home. Shame be gone, "Zaftig" shall remain on my coffee table where I can see it every day. Egads, I'm S-E-X-Y! You ladies who know the routine I described re diets, etc, BUY THIS BOOK. Men, if you're having a hard time convincing your wife she looks beautiful "just the way she is", BUY THIS BOOK (she just might not want the lights out all the time!). Everyone buy it for every zaftig woman you love. A true liberator!

I could not believe my eyes when I found this wonderful book. Here was the evidence I had been looking for- fat is beautiful. Artists through the ages have painted (what we consider)large women. This is a lovely collection of some fine examples. It was so uplifting to look at. There are some inspirational quotes throughout. My only negative point- and it is only minor, is that the minature essays by the author aren't quite as impressive. Don't worry, go back and look at the paintings, they speak for themselves. I really can't convey how important this work is, especially to all us fat women out there that have a suspicion that they are beautiful but just need the proof!

After reading this book I no longer felt ashamed that my body isn't akin to Twiggy or Kate Moss. Soft curves and a healthy body are a wonderful formula according to the author -why must we emaciate our feminine attributes? Buy this book for the woman you love, it's a healthy alternative to starvation diets and malnutrition.

Beautifully bound, beautiful captions, and of course beautiful art work. It's hard to make a better purchase than this book, I'm glad I bought it instead of a wieght loss book!
My only quarrel is that the pieces mostly show full, plump women who don't fit the definition of "fat", and there are few black women, although the author seemed to be trying to focus on classical paintings, so it can only be expected since it is no doubt difficult to find classic works of art where the subject is a person of African descent.
But overall, I love this book and flip through it's pages often, it's a great mood lifter. Believe me, this is more likely to make you feel good about yourself than any diet pill claims to.

I loved this celebration of curvaceous women! After reading St. Paige's chapter on the Cult of Thinness I felt only relief to be back in the realm of reality. The author has culled from history & the masters of art, images celebrating the joy of zaftig. Certainly this book needs to be on everyone's gift list, it is luscious with full-color prints, succulent sayings & meaningful musings all about the love of full bodied women.

A fabulous book--really a complete anthology of fat art through the ages. Very high quality printing and paper as well. I agree with the reviewer who said that the essays aren't long enough, but the quality of the paintings more than make up for it. I really enjoyed the bit which points out that when artists have typically portrayed both Venus (epitome of beauty) and Eve (first woman), they do so as women of size. I also highly recommend the book "Fat?So!" by Marilyn Wann for those exploring self-acceptance.

Considered merely as an art book, 'Zaftig' deserves attention. The reproductions are stunning, and the selection is *generous*, with plenty of interesting, even amusing, surprises.

The women celebrated in these pictures were anything but apologetic about their *abounding* voluptuousness. They gloried in it. The woman of today who resembles a Titian goddess has *ample* reason to carry her curves with pride, as this vastly pleasurable collection illustrates.

The pity is that we've been *reduced* to needing a book like this one. That said, the editor has won his case with a brilliantly persuasive appeal to the senses.

This book has prints of paintings, drawings, etchings, sculpture, photographs, and advertisements featuring curvy women, some highlighting their bodies, and others their faces. The prints are beautiful, and some of the best art in the world is featured. I especially love Rembrandt's Bathsheba (from the Louvre) and Reni's Cleopatra (from the Pitti, I just saw it during my stay in Florence). I do wish that the pages with the prints had the titles, artists, and locations of the works right there. Instead, the titles and artists are listed in an index at the end, and there is no mention of where these artworks are, so that if one is interested in seeing a painting or sculpture in real life, one can pursue this. But on the plus side, the book is easy to read, and very enjoyable visually.

The book is divided up by topic (subject or artist), these being: Fashions in Body Type, The Cult of Thinness, The Goodness of Zaftig, Eve, Venus, Other Goddesses, Women as Symbols and Personifications, Cleopatra, Bathsheba, Hilda, Rembrandt van Rijn, Pieter Paul Rubens, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Boris Kustodiev, Aristide Maillol, Gaston Lchaise, Reginald Marsh, Pablo Picasso, An Opulent Age, Opera Divas, The Stage, On the Beach, Youthful Plumpness, Motherhood, Confidently Voluptuous, and Women's Bodies in Other Cultures.

As an aside, which is more just a comment than a criticism: with all of its pictures celebrating size, it must be admitted that most of them are of fair, white women; women that have pale skin and women of "other cultures" are fit into the last chapter, and they are mostly other cultures through the European gaze (Italian, French, Swiss). While St. Paige argues that most people and most cultures have preferred heavier women to thin ones, can we also not argue that many people prefer paler people too, as evidenced by the images in the book. But I'm glad that there is an attempt to put people of colour in the book.

The author puts a lot of emphasis on the idea that women are naturally curvy, and that thinness is freakish. While I agree that women tend toward curviness, not all women can be a size 20 either, just like not everyone can be a size 2. And the argument of "naturalness" doesn't sit well with me, as it has been used to justify many unpleasant things. I am not a zaftig woman, but I appreciate the beauty on these pages.

Simple and tells it like it is- or how it was and how it could be. A work of Art in and of itself, it was a joy to see how the fuller figure can be viewed as something beautiful.

As an artist, I really appreciated this book. As a woman, I really appreciated this book. Curves are certainly more interesting to paint, draw or sculpt than angles and sharp lines. I bought this book because I decided to do some soul searching; to change my body image. I think that if a large woman studies these images enough, it will positively reshape her ideas of beauty and self worth. There is one section called "The Cult of Thinness." It is the most provocative chapter in the book, because after you look at the large woman, you'll be smacked in the face with a classic image of Venus, who really looks more like a man, really.

I will agree with reviewers that some people are thin and can't gain weight if they tried. However, they don't need a book. Media fetishes them and without fat acceptance movements, women will never be thin enough. I really feel sorry for any person, large or small, who has been through alienation or abuse because of appearance though.