Violla A ‘Topaz’ at Metart by Matiss

Violla A ‘Topaz‘ by Leonardo

One image in and I can say, with mathematical certainty, that this set will be polarizing. Some will love it, others will hate it — there won’t be much of a middle ground between those extremes of opinion.

Why? The color, or should I say the color, specifically, of the model’s hair. Met Art has built its reputation and empire on a natural, unembellished type of feminine beauty. And while Violla A is a natural beauty, there is nothing at all natural about her hair color. The closest and most descriptive analog might be “Lamborghini Orange,” that vivid, radiant shade that is so arresting on an exotic automobile, and so glaring on a young woman’s head.

And there’s the divide. I can praise the model, the styling, the location, the technical and artistic aspects of the photography, to the skies. But if you can’t get over that hair color, you’re not going to get into this set.

Oh, I had a moment of doubt at the start. But I got over it. And by the time I was through I loved the set, loved the model, loved the choices made by the photographer. And I even came to love that outrageous hair.

Of the many clever choices Matiss has made here the location is the most important. It’s a rolling meadow, surrounded by a line of trees in the distance, a verdant carpet of tall grass dotted with flowers in a vivid shade of (entirely natural) purple. It’s so pretty that one wouldn’t mind looking at landscape photos of the location, even minus a model.

He’s placed Violla A in this beautiful setting, totally nude, and hung a necklace of large, glossy, purple and blue beads around her neck. The colors here — both natural and synthetic — work extremely well together.

And, having noted all that, perhaps the most striking aspect of the set is Violla’s expressive face. This girl has a lot of looks, and her emotional and expressive range is truly impressive. Between the smile in #027 through the “crouching tigress,” nearly hidden in the tall grass of #058 I found a dazzling array of exceptional headshots — too many to list, in fact.

You’ll also find figure studies, explicit and enticing (and moist) detailed close-ups, and additional compositions among the generous selection of images “Topaz” contains. If you love the hair you’ll love the set. If not? You won’t.