Brigitte Bardot is pictured in Jean Aurel's
Les Femmes, 1969. Bardot stars as Clara, a vivacious young woman ostensibly hired for secretarial work by a licentious, older novelist suffering from a bad case of writer's block. Clara's presence revitalizes and inspires the author, who soon finds himself obsessed with her
liberated sexuality, modern sensibilities and lush, pouty lips.
Bardot's pose with her legs apart and hands tightly clasped, gives the sense of feminine sensuality and simultaneously conveys strength. It is this combination that made Bardot such a compelling sexual icon of the 1960s. As Simone De Beauvoir commented in 'Brigitte Bardot and the Lolita Syndrome' "BB seems to be available to everyone and yet, paradoxically, she is intimidating....(T)here is something stubborn in her sulky face, in her sturdy body....There is nothing coarse about her. She has a kind of spontaneous dignity..."
The reverse of the photograph is stamped with the following information:
17 AVR 1969, Patrice PICOT
JOURS DE FRANCE
49 avenue Marceau
75116 PARIS
Tel: (1) 40 70 15 15
and annotated 'Les Femmes'
Patrice Picot
Brigitte Bardot (Les Femmes)Vintage Gelatin Silver Print
30 x 20 cms (11¾ x 7¾ inches)
1969
stamped on reverse:17 AVR 1969, Patrice PICOT
£ 1400