Getting Inspired By The Old Master(bators)

May 20, 2009
BRIAN-O-BRIEN

Nothing says fine art like a painting of a taut torso taking a picture of itself. At least that's true for Ross Watson, who finds a way to make beefcake paintings smart and provocative.

Aussie painter Watson has only two constants in his work: a bent towards extreme realism and the presence of lovely young men. His best work comes when the two are combined and juxtaposed, including his latest collection Classic De Novo, which will be on display this summer in Berlin. Here he inserts gorgeous guys (often using modern technology like cell phones and digital cameras) into work inspired by the "Old Masters." By doing so, he imposes our standard of physical and sexual beauty into the aesthetic cannon of former generations.

Yeah, that all sounds really smart and shit, we just like when he shows blokes with their clothes off. His website is full of his current and older work and his photography, which is just as sexy and is often the basis for the paintings. You can also buy something for your wall, if you have a few thousand dollars to drop on a beautiful man who can't even give you a hand job.