Rubenesque

American  

[roo-buh-nesk] / ˌru bəˈnɛsk /

adjective

1. of or relating to the painter Peter Paul Rubens or his works, which feature full-figured women.

2. (of a woman's figure) plump but shapely; curvaceous.

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Rubenesque British  

/ ˌruːbəˌnɛsk /

adjective

1. (of a woman) having the physique associated with Rubens' portraits of women; plump and attractive

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Etymology

Origin of Rubenesque

1815–20; Ruben(s) ( def. ) + -esque ( def. ); the 's' is almost always dropped because Rubensesque is hard to pronounce

Example Sentences

Bulked up with spawn eggs, they have transformed from summer slim to a possible world record Rubenesque.

From Los Angeles Times • May 9, 2022

Now, as waiflike models are replaced with Rubenesque ones, can plus-size fashion be freed from the burdens of identity politics and cultural prejudices — to simply exist as clothes and not statements?

From Washington Post • Nov. 27, 2018

Rubenesque, with gossamer skin, they don’t stand by, waiting for you to eat whenever you want; these delicate beauties are only available in season, from mid-June through August.

From Seattle Times • Jun. 20, 2017

He playfully taunts a roommate he describes as Rubenesque; he shows off his bedroom, which features a James Dean cutout and a Mickey Mouse telephone.

From The New Yorker • May 11, 2016

Since this Rubenesque ostentation was not possible, he took refuge in Classicism and in a little garden he erected a sort of Greek temple that should serve at once as a dwelling and a studio.

From Woman Triumphant (La Maja Desnuda) by Keniston, Hayward