Is this actually of any art historical interest?
Because I'm more likely to put it down to male-gazey prurience. Do we need to know the identity of the woman who posed for Courbet's L'Origine du Monde?
Experts say they are 99% sure model who posed for L’Origine du monde was ballet dancer Constance Queniaux.
Jonathan Jones, who has a certain amount of form for ponceyness, higher codswallop and general obnoxiousness, is yay pissed, because he has just identified the model as another well-known artists' model of the period in a book he's just finished: Who posed for the 'Mona Lisa of vaginas'? (As several commentators point out Below The Line, Mr Jones does not appear to understand the distinction between a vagina and a vulva...).
But either way - and it might not be either of these two ladies, one of whom 'became a highly respectable lady of leisure known for her philanthropy' - so what? and would whoever it was really appreciate speculation about their identity over 150 years after the painting was completed? This entry was originally posted at https://oursin.dreamwidth.org/2825439.html. Please comment there using OpenID. View
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