Keywords: The Origin of the World (upper section).jpg The woman depicted is the Irish redhead Joanna Hiffernan who must have been around 23 when this work was painted Joanna Jo Hiffernan ca 1843 “ after 1903 was also the model of and romantically linked with American painter James Abbott McNeill Whistler who painted her as The White Girl Courbet also painted her as La belle Irlandaise and Le Sommeil See also http //hyperallergic com/65065/experts-argue-head-might-not-match-courbets-origin-body-nsfw/ Experts Argue Head Might Not Match Courbet ™s Origin Body 1866 Oil on canvas object history credit line accession number http //jahsonic wordpress com/2013/02/09/icon-of-erotic-art-55-2/ PD-old-100 <gallery> Image Gustave Courbet-L'Origine du Monde-1866 jpg Image Origin-of-the-World jpg Image L'Origine du monde jpeg </gallery> L'Origine du monde |