The photographs in this book were taken for the most part in Italy by British photographer Patrick Richmond Nicholas. Called simply Belle (Beautiful Women in Italian) the series started life back in 1988 when the photographer lived in Bologna and was starting out in fashion photography. They follow a loose cannon based on the idea that all art is related to other forms of art. At the beginning the connection to painting was obvious and deliberately ironical but as the series progressed other art forms have been drawn in with references to music, poetry, literature and even science.
Patrick Richmond Nicholas lives and works in Orvieto, Italy.