All great sculptors, from Rodin to Michelangelo have used distortion and exaggeration in their work. Raul is following a very old tradition.
Hello Mike, dont get me wrong because I do not want to argue or criticize, but I do not think so. Michelangelo, from an artistic point of view, is one of the greatest exponent of the Reinessance and the only very old tradition we can found on the Reinessance period is the ancient (Greek) concept of beauty as proportion and armony (between parts).
The Reinessance is by definition the re-discovery of the classic values, in a word 'balance'. Only the Mannerism and Baroque will break such ideal, showing a without-centre vision of the art, the best way to express the new restlessness feeling.
Now, personally, I dont see any distortion and exaggeration in the work of Michelangelo, as well I dont see any of the ancient Greek ideals about beauty in a such figure. On the opposite, all those rules are breaked (ankles too tiny, legs and feets to long, head too small, etc.). Raul is just following his own tradition.
I dont like this style, but this is just my opinion. People sometimes mistake between facts ('that ankle is too tiny') and opinions ('I dont like that ankle, so it sucks for me'), ending with wrong conclusions ('saying tiny ankle means the figure, the sculptor, all his work, all the world... sucks').
By the way, is interesting to note the amount of publicity those kind of figure are receiving when generating all that buzz about a tiny ankle.
Luca