Corsi: the world’s first super model
Documentary Summary

"I prefer to act my parts on a painter’s platform. The actor dies and is forgotten.
I live for hundreds of years – maybe thousands – in the famous paintings in which I appear."
Antonio Corsi – 1912

Antonio Corsi was the most sought-after artist’s model of his time, immortalized in the works of John Singer Sargent, Pierre-Auguste Cot, and James Earle Fraser. His likeness can still be seen in statues and reliefs at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York’s Battery Park, St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, and beyond. He even posed for Edward Burne-Jones’s first Pygmalion series, now owned by composer Andrew Lloyd Webber.

In 1924, The Los Angeles Times wrote, “To be the original of scores of masterpieces, to be the inspiration of masters and the friend of the great ones of the earth is more than a distinction.” Yet despite his fame, Corsi’s legacy faded into obscurity.

Determined to leave his mark, Corsi meticulously documented his life through photographs and personal records—materials that remained hidden for decades. Over the past two decades, filmmakers Jake and Tracey Gorst have painstakingly reconstructed his story, bringing to light the life of a man who shaped the visual culture of his era.

Mainspring Narrative Films is proud to present Corsi: The World’s First Super Model, a feature documentary that will reintroduce the world to this extraordinary artist’s model. The film will feature voiceover cameos by acclaimed actors and actresses, including Federico Castelluccio, Eric Roberts, Sean Young, Ed Asner, and many more. Additionally, a companion book is in development to further explore Corsi’s remarkable story.

Mainspring is currently seeking finishing funds to bring this long-awaited project to completion. By rediscovering Corsi, audiences will gain a fresh perspective on the works of Sargent, Abbey, and other great artists—seeing them not just as masterpieces, but as part of a larger story of art, ambition, and an extraordinary man who continues to live on through his image.