It was painted in a time when moral values were being questioned in France. Its realistic representation and eroticism still has the power to shock.
The model for The Origin of the World is thought to be Joanna Hiffernan. She was the lover of Courbet's pupil James Whistler, the American painter. The painting may be the reason for Courbet’s and Whistler's unfriendly separation a short while later.
Joanna Hiffernan
Gustave Courbet (self portrait)
James Whistler
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