This 1616 self-portrait was originally a nude. Then a man had it covered up
For the first time in 342 years, art lovers will get to see Artemisia Gentileschi's The Allegory of Inclination as the artist intended with full frontal nudity.
The 1616 painting, believed to be a self-portrait by the trailblazing female Italian artist, originally depicted a nude woman sitting in the clouds.
But 64 years after it was painted, its inheritor hired an artist to add a strategically placed veil to the artwork "to protect the decorum of his wife and children," Linda Falcone, co-ordinator of the Artemisia Up Close project, told As It Happens host Nil Köksal.
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Both the original painting, and the cover-up, were commissioned by descendants of the famous renaissance artist Michelangelo.
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https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/allegory-of-inclination-nude-restoration-1.6652266