Honeymoon Nude
Since the late 1990s, Currin has taken inspiration from the mood and atmosphere of Flemish and Italian Renaissance paintings to explore the cliches, biases, and sexual desires hidden just beneath the surface of mainstream culture.
In this image, he leaves behind the overt pop-culture references and aesthetics, so at first glance it appears to be a much older painting than it truly is. The figure's loosely tousled hair, body, and mien bring to mind the Classical muses, nymphs, and goddesses of artists like Botticelli. In contrast, there is something about her face that is out of sync with more classical depictions of women. She looks toward the viewer expectantly, and there is a breathless, seductive quality to her expression conjuring the wanting ingenue or fragile waif immortalized by contemporary fashion models of the time such as Kate Moss. She epitomizes heterosexual male desire, an eager and beautiful thing to be taken and possessed. This awareness of being watched coupled with an apparent urge to be seen as desirable imparts the figure with a distinctly twentieth-century subjectivity.
Many critics have pointed out the woman's resemblance to Currin's wife, Rachel Feinstein, who often filled the role of his model and muse. Because he painted this piece during the early days of their marriage, likely when they were still in the "honeymoon" phase of their relationship, the work may be seen as an expression of Currin's newly wedded bliss.
