When I was 34, I had lunch with an art expert. He asked me what sort of art I liked after I expressed little interest in what I had seen in the Tate Gallery, Britain's main modern art museum. I said that I thought a beautiful woman was the most beautiful thing in the world but that some of the abstract figures and paintings I had seen did nothing for me. Even as I said that, I thought this sophisticated man is going to think I am a dummy, hung up on female forms and turning up my nose at Francis Bacon (modern British artist, not the philosopher of earlier times)
and Henry Moore
But recently I was having a sit-down with a small group of super-mature, super-aware and super-sophisticated men who were considering the question "What is beautiful?" The group quickly settled on the ultimate of beauty being a beautiful woman.
I was surprised, partly because this group is professionally dedicated to not agreeing on any question at all. But I also still felt a little chagrined at my younger self showing what I assumed was lack of sophistication. Their focus made me feel like I wasn't so silly after all. I am on a college campus rather often and I see young women, both students and professors, that are stunningly beautiful.
Just now, in looking over what Google presents as results for "beautiful woman", I first limited the search to images approved for non-commercial use. Then, I tried to find an image that showed a beautiful woman but I found that it is not easy to explore that subject without getting mixed up with "attractive" women and "sexy women". I finally selected the image above because it is not especially revealing or provocative. But even as an older guy, I can say that I would probably steal a few extra glances at her in a party or a meeting.
The older I get, the more I can see the child in a twenty year old woman. I know that many woman of that age are well-educated, and strong and smart. I know they are ready to bear children and they will be good mothers. But at my age, a more mature woman is actually more beautiful. She is more interesting and has more character in her face. We can both see that in this picture:
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