An Italian artist has given a modern day spin to a series of classic art works, slimming down the women featured by Botticelli, Velazquez and others to reflect contemporary tastes and trends.

Anna Utopia Giordano gave the Photoshop treatment to 12 nudes from the Renaissance and beyond, using Venus - the goddess of love and a popular muse among artists of the time - as her focal point.

Each depiction of Venus is seen first in her original form and then as Giordano's modern-day translation, with noticeably slimmer thighs and hips, smaller derrieres and flatter stomachs.

"Art has always been looking for the perfect aesthetic standard: a balance of ideal shapes and sizes to follow for drawing the human body," Giordano wrote on her website, explaining the concept.

'The model of beauty has evolved through human history, from the greek proportions of Policleto of Argos to the busty beauty of the Renaissance, leading up to the slender body of Twiggy and the contemporary athletic stars."

Take a look at the results of her handiwork, below: what do you think? Are the changes realistic or not compatible with our ideas of classic art? Let us know your thoughts on Twitter or in the comments section, below.

Below: The Birth Of Venus (1485-86), by Sandro Botticelli, and Anna Utopia Giordano's version

Size zero Botticelli