This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jan/18/naked-artist-deborah-de-robertis-arrested-for-posing-nude-next-to-manets-olympia
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Naked artist Deborah de Robertis arrested for posing nude next to Manet's Olympia | Naked artist Deborah de Robertis arrested for posing nude next to Manet's Olympia |
| (7 months later) | |
| A woman has been arrested for indecent exposure after lying down naked in Paris’s Musée d’Orsay in front of Edouard Manet’s similarly nude painting of the prostitute Olympia. | A woman has been arrested for indecent exposure after lying down naked in Paris’s Musée d’Orsay in front of Edouard Manet’s similarly nude painting of the prostitute Olympia. |
| Museum-goers were enjoying an exhibition entitled Splendour and Misery: Images of Prostitution 1850-1910 when Luxembourg artist Deborah de Robertis undressed and took on the pose of the famed Olympia. | Museum-goers were enjoying an exhibition entitled Splendour and Misery: Images of Prostitution 1850-1910 when Luxembourg artist Deborah de Robertis undressed and took on the pose of the famed Olympia. |
| De Robertis “was wearing a portable camera to film the public’s reaction. It was an artistic performance,” her lawyer Tewfik Bouzenoune said on Sunday. | De Robertis “was wearing a portable camera to film the public’s reaction. It was an artistic performance,” her lawyer Tewfik Bouzenoune said on Sunday. |
| It was not the Olympia’s first scandal: the painting of a naked woman gazing directly at the viewer created an uproar when it was shown in 1865. | It was not the Olympia’s first scandal: the painting of a naked woman gazing directly at the viewer created an uproar when it was shown in 1865. |
| It is seen as clearly depicting a prostitute, a real woman unlike the dreamy nymphs, religious or historical figures usually featured in art at the time. | It is seen as clearly depicting a prostitute, a real woman unlike the dreamy nymphs, religious or historical figures usually featured in art at the time. |
| However De Robertis’s naked display was a little too real for the Musée d’Orsay’s tastes. | However De Robertis’s naked display was a little too real for the Musée d’Orsay’s tastes. |
| “There were many people in front of the painting. Security guards responded well, they closed the room and asked her to get dressed,” a spokeswoman for the museum told AFP. | “There were many people in front of the painting. Security guards responded well, they closed the room and asked her to get dressed,” a spokeswoman for the museum told AFP. |
| “As she refused, the police were called and removed her.” | “As she refused, the police were called and removed her.” |
| The museum has pressed charges for indecent exposure. | The museum has pressed charges for indecent exposure. |
| It is not the first time the artist has scandalised Paris and the Musée d’Orsay. | It is not the first time the artist has scandalised Paris and the Musée d’Orsay. |
| In May 2014 she exposed her vagina in front of Gustave Courbet’s “Origin of the World” painting to reproduce the close-up image of a woman’s genitals. | In May 2014 she exposed her vagina in front of Gustave Courbet’s “Origin of the World” painting to reproduce the close-up image of a woman’s genitals. |
| “Putting an artist in custody sends a very bad message,” said Bouzenoune, criticising a “worrying judicial prudishness.” | “Putting an artist in custody sends a very bad message,” said Bouzenoune, criticising a “worrying judicial prudishness.” |
| He cited the case of South African artist Steve Cohen who was found guilty of indecent exposure in 2014 after dancing around in front of the Eiffel Tower with a live rooster attached to his penis with a ribbon. | He cited the case of South African artist Steve Cohen who was found guilty of indecent exposure in 2014 after dancing around in front of the Eiffel Tower with a live rooster attached to his penis with a ribbon. |
| Despite France’s reputation as a hotbed of sexual liberation, art and sex have had an uneasy relationship in recent years. | Despite France’s reputation as a hotbed of sexual liberation, art and sex have had an uneasy relationship in recent years. |
| In 2014 vandals deflated a massive sculpture of a tree in Paris’s chic Place Vendome by American artist Paul McCarthy that was shaped like a sex toy. | In 2014 vandals deflated a massive sculpture of a tree in Paris’s chic Place Vendome by American artist Paul McCarthy that was shaped like a sex toy. |
| Then in 2015 a sculpture by British-Indian artist Anish Kapoor at the Palace of Versailles that was dubbed the “queen’s vagina” for its sexual overtones was defaced by anti-Semitic graffiti. | Then in 2015 a sculpture by British-Indian artist Anish Kapoor at the Palace of Versailles that was dubbed the “queen’s vagina” for its sexual overtones was defaced by anti-Semitic graffiti. |