The Independent tells the story of Yves Klein’s ANT paintings and the film that remains of their creation:

A year befor the show, she was in her early twenties and running the Rive Droite Gallery in Paris when Klein, came in, said he had fallen out with his gallery, the Iris Clert, which was opposite, and now wanted to be represented by Ms Marci. By the time the show was staged – and tightly controlled by the flamboyant painter – they had become firm friends.

“The scene was really thrilling because he directed the girls who were models to move in certain directions on the paper which was spread out on the floor,” she said. “They applied the paint themselves, but the rhythm with which they moved was dictated by Yves Klein. The women were completely directed and under the spell of the eye, movement and words of Yves Klein. Before the performance there was a rehearsal with the same models but no paint and no music. Yves Klein indicated their precise choreography so there could be no mistake.”

After the event, Klein said: “I personally would never attempt to smear paint over my own body and become a living brush; on the contrary, I would rather put on my tuxedo and wear white gloves. I would not even think of dirtying my hands with paint. Detached and distant, the work of art must complete itself before my eyes and under my command.”

Klein and Ms Marci had placed adverts in various French newspapers asking for women to come forward for theproject. Response came from many professional models who were “very young, and enthusiastic about working as human paintbrushes”, said Ms Marci. (Some of the naked models are still alive. One, the inspiration for “Ant 4”, is in her seventies, and said to be a yoga instructor in Holland.)

Yves Klein, At His Very Bluest (Independent)