Leralara

In the fall of 1998 I moved from a small town in Arkansas to New York City in hopes of becoming a model. Shortly, after arriving, I interviewed with the big three agencies which, at the time, were Wilhelmina, Elite, and Ford.

At a size 6-8, I really had no place in either mainstream or plus size modelling. Wilhelmina and Elite both said no— I would never work as a plus-size model citing my arms which would look too thin for plus-size clients — and plainly I was not going to be able to change my weight by dieting— (yes, I had tried that but really, I just wanted to be me)— I was about to give up.

And so, It was with a sense of doom I walked into Ford models that day. I told the truth, which went something like, “ya hi, I’m Lara. I know, I know… you don’t have a place for someone my size—and to be honest—I just threw up in a bush outside— I don’t feel well… so I’m gonna go…” The agent laughed and after talking I was surprised to be signed signed on the spot.

The shot of me below, was shot by Oliverio Toscani, for Talk Magazine. )The description is from a site called The Judgement of Paris which compared certain plus size models with famous muses.)

THE HIGH RENAISSANCE

Titian’s Venus and Lara Johnson

Titian (1485–1576) is generally ranked with Michaelangelo and Raphael as the greatest painter of the High Renaissance. But whereas Michaelangelo perfected the masculine ideal, Titian’s genius was most conspicuous in his female subjects, and his sumptuous representations of femininity have never been equalled.

Unlike the earlier works, in Venus with a Mirror Titian’s voluptuous model adopts the classical pose known as the Venus Pudica, or “modest Venus.”. In the parallel image above, we see Lara Johnson in the classical “modest” pose of Venus with a Mirror, but with one feature borrowed from the earlier Venus of Urbino—her challenging, confident scrutiny of her viewer. The most attractive model of her generation, Lara bears an uncanny resemblance to Titian’s preternaturally beautiful fair-haired muse, and deserves limitless veneration as a living reincarnation of a timeless feminine ideal.