That's an interesting thread on Quatre Gats, cjoseph. I'm thinking, "Why not a similar thread here that focuses on book covers?" I'm often intrigued by book covers and at the moment, I am in possession of a book that I will likely read simply because I saw it at a friend's house and liked the cover art. The book is Miss Garnet's Angel by Salley Vickers. I've no idea what it's about, but the cover is lovely. -- Kathy T

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Kathy, it's an enjoyable slow-paced read and probably more so if you know Venice (which I don't). An elderly lady goes for a long out-of-season stay in Venice. The places she visits, the people she meets and their affect on her and vice versa are the themes of the book. If you like fast and racy this is not going to be for you.
And a bright and vibrant angel to cheer you on your way. :-)

Thanks for the warning, Veer. Sounds like it may not be my cup of tea. Funny though, your description sounds exactly like the kind of book my friend likes. Perhaps I should judge a book by its owner rather than its cover! -- Kathy T

Have just being looking at the Led Zeppelin's Swan Song record cover, and Frieda, I don't think it is meant to be an angel. I'm sure it is taken from a Rimmer study for Icarus.
You remember the Greek myth of Icarus and his father escaping from Crete using wings made from feathers and wax.
Icarus flew too near the sun, the wax melted and . . . and that would have been his 'Swan Song'.

As you said you assumed it was an angel I just looked at it in the same way (and no, I've never seen one either). It wasn't until I looked at the wings and realised they were half-way down his back and not in the right position for flight, plus the sun shining in the background that my mind took a sideways lurch!
Of course Icarus (if it is him) is even more likely to have genitalia than an angel, so maybe he is wearing a g-string, or more probably, as this was High Victorian American art the optional-extras have been left out for the sake of modesty.
I used to attend many life-drawing classes in the '60'-70's and although the female models were unclothed, the men always wore a pair of trunks. Don't know if it is the same today.

Vee, I did life drawing in London in the late 80s and in Reigate in the early 2000s; in both classes men and women were completely nude except for one rather scary-looking woman with a bad tattoo who kept her g-string on.

If it's supposed to be Icarus, then the blanked area is even odder, as you say.