The museum is filled with paintings of nude women. This is a deeply codified practice that has changed over the centuries. Giorgione’s Sleeping Venus inspired many artists; and, through their representations of Venus, artists created patterns. This pattern evolves over time; and a distinct revolution in the depiction of women in art is the result. […]
Experts say they are ‘99% certain ‘that they have finally discovered the identity of the model who posed for the Gustave Courbet L’origine du Monde (The Origin of the World) scandal (1866). A new book claims that the Dutch area depicted in the painting belongs to the Parisian ballet dancer Constance Queniaux. While historians have […]
A study of nude models is often called an academy (académie in French), because such paintings and drawings have been standard practice in art schools, or academies, since the sixteenth century. This work depicts a model in a pose that is found in at least two other paintings. One of these, now at the Musée […]