Femme nue couchée
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| - | '''''La maja desnuda''''' ("The Nude ''[[Majo|maja]]''") is an [[oil paint]]ing on canvas by the master [[Spain|Spanish]] painter, [[Francisco de Goya]], that portrays a nude woman reclining on a bed of pillows. It was executed some time between 1797 and 1800, and is sometimes said to be the first clear depiction of female [[pubic hair]] in famous Western art. (Others had certainly hinted at it before, however; [[Lucas Cranach]]'s painting '[[The Nymph of the Spring]]' from around [[1539]] seems to show [[pubic hair]].) | ||
| - | Goya also created another painting of the same woman identically posed, but clothed, entitled ''[[La maja vestida]]'' ("The Clothed ''maja''"). The identity of the model and why the paintings were created are still unknown. Both paintings were first recorded as belonging to the collection of Prime Minister [[Manuel de Godoy]], Duke of Alcudia, and it has been conjectured that the woman depicted was his young mistress. It has also been suggested that the woman was [[María del Pilar Teresa Cayetana de Silva y Álvarez de Toledo, 13th Duchess of Alba]], with whom Goya is rumored to have been romantically involved and did complete known portraits of. However, many scholars have rejected this possibility, including Australian art critic [[Robert Hughes (critic)|Robert Hughes]] in his 2003 biography, ''Goya''. Others believe the woman depicted is actually a composite of several different models. | + | '''''Femme nue couchée''''' ({{lang-fr|Nude Reclining Woman}}) is a 1862 [[painting]] by [[France|French]] [[Realism (visual arts)|Realist]] painter [[Gustave Courbet]] (1819–1877). It depicts a young dark-haired woman reclining on a couch, wearing only a pair of shoes and [[stocking]]s. Behind her, partly drawn red curtains reveal an overcast sky seen through a closed window. The work is likely influenced by [[Goya]]'s ''[[La maja desnuda]]''. |
| - | In 1815, the [[Spanish Inquisition]] summoned Goya to reveal who commissioned him to create the "obscene" ''La maja desnuda'', and he was consequently stripped of his position as the Spanish court painter. If Goya gave an explanation of the painting's origin to the Inquisition, that account has never surfaced. | + | The painting was initially owned by [[Alexandre Louis Philippe Marie Berthier, 4th Prince de Wagram|Alexandre Berthier]] and later by [[Marcell Nemes]]. In 1913, it was bought by the Hungarian collector [[Ferenc Hatvany]]. At one time, he painted a copy of the painting and, as a practical joke, sent it to be exhibited as the original at a [[Belgrade]] exhibition. Together with the rest of Hatvany's collection, the painting was [[looted art|looted]] from a [[Budapest]] bank vault during the 1945 [[Soviet]] conquest of the city in [[World War II]]. After it was briefly seen attached to the tarpaulin of a Soviet military vehicle on [[Buda Castle]] Hill, the painting appeared to have vanished without a trace. |
| - | In 1930, two sets of stamps depicting ''La maja desnuda'' in commemoration of Goya's work were privately produced and later approved by the Spanish Postal Authority. That same year, the [[United States]] government barred and returned any mail bearing the stamps. | + | It surfaced again in 2000 and 2003, when it was offered for sale first to the [[Budapest Museum of Fine Arts]] and then to the [[Commission for Art Recovery]] (CAR) by a [[Slovaks|Slovak]] man claiming to be an antiques dealer, but who appeared to his interlocutors to be involved with the Slovak [[organised crime]] scene. The dealer produced an [[affidavit]], judged reliable by the CAR, stating that the painting was given by Soviet soldiers to a doctor from a village near [[Bratislava]] in return for his medical treatment of a wounded soldier. An inspection of the picture's [[craquelure]] determined that the painting was indeed the original and not Hatvany's copy. |
| - | ''La Maja Desnuda'' is in the collection of the [[Museo del Prado]] in [[Madrid]] and is on display next to ''La Maja Vestida'' in the same room. | + | After five years of negotiations, [[Interpol]] involvement and diplomatic wrangling between the US and Slovakian government, the CAR managed to acquire the painting for Hatvany's heirs in exchange for a USD 300,000 reward. It was shown to the public for the first time since the 1930s in a 2007 Courbet exposition at the [[Grand Palais]] in [[Paris]]. |
| - | ==See also== | + | |
| - | * ''[[Femme nue couchée]]'' by [[Gustave Courbet]] | + | |
| - | * ''[[The Rokeby Venus]]'' by [[Diego Velázquez]] | + | |
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Revision as of 01:00, 25 December 2009
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Femme nue couchée (Template:Lang-fr) is a 1862 painting by French Realist painter Gustave Courbet (1819–1877). It depicts a young dark-haired woman reclining on a couch, wearing only a pair of shoes and stockings. Behind her, partly drawn red curtains reveal an overcast sky seen through a closed window. The work is likely influenced by Goya's La maja desnuda.
The painting was initially owned by Alexandre Berthier and later by Marcell Nemes. In 1913, it was bought by the Hungarian collector Ferenc Hatvany. At one time, he painted a copy of the painting and, as a practical joke, sent it to be exhibited as the original at a Belgrade exhibition. Together with the rest of Hatvany's collection, the painting was looted from a Budapest bank vault during the 1945 Soviet conquest of the city in World War II. After it was briefly seen attached to the tarpaulin of a Soviet military vehicle on Buda Castle Hill, the painting appeared to have vanished without a trace.
It surfaced again in 2000 and 2003, when it was offered for sale first to the Budapest Museum of Fine Arts and then to the Commission for Art Recovery (CAR) by a Slovak man claiming to be an antiques dealer, but who appeared to his interlocutors to be involved with the Slovak organised crime scene. The dealer produced an affidavit, judged reliable by the CAR, stating that the painting was given by Soviet soldiers to a doctor from a village near Bratislava in return for his medical treatment of a wounded soldier. An inspection of the picture's craquelure determined that the painting was indeed the original and not Hatvany's copy.
After five years of negotiations, Interpol involvement and diplomatic wrangling between the US and Slovakian government, the CAR managed to acquire the painting for Hatvany's heirs in exchange for a USD 300,000 reward. It was shown to the public for the first time since the 1930s in a 2007 Courbet exposition at the Grand Palais in Paris.
