The Beautiful Boy
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Beautiful Boy[1] is a book, ISBN 0-8478-2586-8, by Germaine Greer, published in 2003. Its avowed intention was "to advance women's reclamation of their capacity for and right to visual pleasure". It is a study of the youthful male face and form, from antiquity to the present day, from paintings and drawings to statuary and photographs.
The cover picture caused minor controversy when the subject of the photograph, Björn Andresen, a Swedish actor and musician who appeared in Death in Venice (billed by the director Luchino Visconti as "the most beautiful boy in the world") stated in the press that he objected to the picture having been used without his permission.[2][3][4]
The book contains some 200 pictures of boys through the ages, and is a history of boys in art. Pictures and discussions range from Cupid to Elvis, Boy George, Kurt Cobain, and Jim Morrison.
The book generated some controversy because "society is not accustomed to seeing beauty in young males", Greer claims.
[edit] Notes
- ^ Depending upon the edition the cover shows the title to be "The Boy" or "The Beautiful Boy", as do booksellers
- ^ 'The Guardian:' comments following use of Andresen's picture on the cover of "The Boy"
- ^ 'Fairfax Digital:' "I'm not Greer's play toy"
- ^ Permission for a photograph's use lies with the copyright owner, in this case David Bailey. While it might have been courteous to ask the subject's permission it is not expected or usual
