Ekberg Pastel, 2022

Anita Ekberg (1931-2015) was a ravishing and voluptuous beauty who began as a model, and participated in beauty contests including Miss Universe. As a finalist this scored her an American movie contract, although the bulk of her career was ultimately in Italy. She is best remembered for the image of her in the fountain in the Federico Fellini film ‘La Dolce Vita’ (1960), considered an iconic cinematic moment. You can see it here including Ekberg wearing a live white kitten on her head (I’m serious).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_hfZoe9FHE

Her heyday was through the 1950s and 1960s in which she became a major pin-up sex symbol. A free spirit, she was notorious for being more interested in doing as she pleased including horse riding in the hills and affairs with a number of famous leading men - than she was towing the Hollywood ‘star system’ line - which caused much consternation. While aesthetically soft and pleasing, the image also speaks to time and decay. Later Ekberg said “When I look back I think “You were really beautiful at that time! But I never really thought so. It’s only now that I’m not any more, I think, ‘you weren’t so bad after all.’ But why do we have to change, and so drastically, too.”