She is
the Origin of the world
.
The oil on canvas by Gustave Courbet, beside which the curators of “Lacan, the exhibition”, at the Center Pompidou-Metz, could not pass, grabs the visitor by the collar towards the end of the tour.
Fix his gaze.
Do you remember ?
The Origin of the World
, a small rectangle measuring 46 x 55 cm (made in 1866), all of female flesh, and, under the raised shirt (or the white sheet), are a breast, a stomach, a navel, two thighs revealing of course this woman's penis, her black hairs, her famous slit.
The painting, hidden during the Second World War as far as Hungary after many journeys, was purchased by Jacques Lacan and his partner, Sylvia Bataille, in 1955, at an auction.
To discover
Podcast
> Gwyneth Paltrow: the strange guru from the Upper East Side
The keys to supporting women in their working lives
Download the Le Figaro Cuisine app for tasty and authentic recipes
Also read: The Voyou concert at the Olympia, the Lacan exhibition at the Center Pompidou Metz, Handel at the Opéra Garnier... Our 5 cultural must-sees
The psychiatrist and psychoanalyst kept this painting for thirty years for personal use, exhibited in a corner of his country house in Yvelines.
The visitor had to be taken to admire it, once a wooden panel had been pushed back…
This article is reserved for subscribers.
You have 85% left to discover.
Flash sale
-70% on digital subscription
I ENJOY IT
Already subscribed?
Log in