Zaftig: The Case for Curves
Zaftig is a Yiddish word meaning ripe or luscious, and is commonly applied to curvaceous women. This book celebrates these women principally through its many reproductions of paintings, but also through quotations from those who argue for the attractiveness of zaftig women.Some of the painters reproduced are: Rembrandt, Titian, Correggio, Lord Leighton, Diego Rivera, Rubens, Renoir, Reginald Marsh, Picasso, Giovanni Bellini, Ingres, Klimt, Mucha, Tamara de Lempicka, and Camille Bombois.The arguements for feminine substance are arranged thematically, and include an attack on the cult of thinness; a defense of the zaftig as a natural state; an exploration of eras, such as the Victorian age, in which abundance was preferred; and an examination of subcultures in which heavy women rule, as on the opera stage.