Sticking with James Jean for a moment, here's another one of his wonderfully poignant works. Without drawing a single tear on her face, Jean has managed to paint a picture that feels completely sad. The title of the work is 'Poorsailor' which is something of an enigma, but the emotion it gives off is definitely one of misery. There is perhaps a slight undertone of accusation in her stare, too.
She's a well-dressed, beautiful and delicate woman with a pearl in her hair. Perhaps she was expecting to go somewhere, do something or see someone, but has been let down. Perhaps she's a metaphor for every woman who's ever got less than they deserved out of life. We are all trying to sail seas of our own, and sometimes the wind isn't on our side. We're all occasionally poor sailors.
To insure one’s house, one’s car or to underwrite a life insurance policy, that is common practice. But who would pay an insurance premium for his/her thumb, legs or smile? Stars, of course.
At the top of the ranking are the legs of Mariah Carey, worth 810 million USD: The diva became, in 2006, the Gillette brand muse for the advertising campaign «Legs of a Goddess». She then took out an insurance policy with London Lloyds to protect her legs, a decision that is far from being insignificant. Among its customers, the London insurer then included several icons of music, such as Bob Dylan or Rod Stewart.
David Beckham’s body insured for 195 million USD: European champion with Manchester United in 1999, David Beckham was in 2006 the most renowned footballer of the planet. In relation to his sporting activities, he took out an insurance cover for his legs. The huge amount paid for his insurance would reportedly exceed the 103 million USD disbursed by Real Madrid for the cover of Christiano Ronaldo in 2009. The fashion model would later extend his insurance cover to his entire body.
15 million USD in insurance for Kim Kardashian’s curves: The curves of Kim Kardashian are her number one beauty asset. The reality TV star, who is crazy about plastic surgery, has underwritten an insurance policy worth 15 million USD to protect her famous butt.
The culinary critic Egon Ronay assured his taste buds: The famous Hungarian culinary critic has insured his taste buds since 1957, for the amount of 400 000 USD. An original insurance policy which allows him to cover his sense of taste without which he will no longer be able to practice his job.