Mel Ramos (b. 1935)

"Of course there has been a long tradition in art of painting nude women, ranging from Rubens to Ingres, among many, many others. Ingres by the way, in the case of his famous 'Odalisque,' painted a woman with an extra vertebra in her back. Most anatomists will tell you that her back is elongated - there's an extra vertebra. So to me, art also has a lot to do with humor, which plays a very important part in my work. I love to tell jokes and I love to make jokes with paintings." -- Mel Ramos