Monday 6 December 2010

Sex, Italian Style

This is  a guest post by Jeffrey Felner, style maven

by Monica Bellucci
  • If one utters the name Monica in the U.S.A., there are only two possibilities that come to mind: Monica Lewinsky—we know what she is infamous for—and Monica from the television show Friends. In more rarefied circles, the name conjures up a sultrier European image of what seems to be an ideal woman: Monica Bellucci.
s. Bellucci has been the subject of many of the greatest photographers of the 20th century and does not seem to be at any risk of fading away anytime soon. 


Spanning her 20-year career, which includes editorial work as a model and movies as an actress, this homage to herself includes 165 pages of exquisite photography from the likes of Richard Avedon to Bruce Weber. She is captured as a 50s fashion model a la Dovima, a Pedro Almodovar heroine a la Rosy de Palma, a 50s movie queen a la Anna Magnani as well as the images of temptress, motherhood, sex kitten, dominatrix, and all-around sex symbol. Some of the most arresting images are courtesy of Mr. Avedon and from Fabrizio Ferri not to mention Steven Meisel and Helmut Newton.
Were it not for the fact that the proceeds of this flawlessly produced volume, are being donated to a women’s rights organization , Paroles de Femmes nd to a pediatric oncology charity, one would have labeled this as a purely egotistically motivated project.
Ms. Bellucci was quoted in  
Italian Vanity Fair (April 2010), 
Being photographed is a way to know oneself.” 
It can be extrapolated from this that she is exquisitely tuned in to her inner self as evidenced here with this publication. She has now given the world the opportunity to know her as well as she knows herself.
The star says: 

"Behind some of those photos there are some very sad moments in my life. I appear to be satisfied but I was really in pieces. 

She recently posed nude with five-month-old Leonie for the cover of Italian Vanity Fair




Monica's book is published by Rizzoli and available here


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