Artpress's 1982 'Obscenity' Issue: Courbet's Origin of the World Cover

In May 1982, artpress published a dossier entitled 'Obscenity,' featuring contributions from notable figures like Patrick Amine, Jean Baudrillard, and Judith Brouste. The cover showcased Gustave Courbet's 1866 painting, L'Origine du monde, which many believed was lost. To tone down its boldness, designer Roger Tallon framed the artwork within a TV-style border. The issue faced censorship in Belgium, resulting in some copies being destroyed. In October 1982, Italian thinker Maria Antonietta Macciocchi condemned the publication as 'pornographic,' critiquing the depiction of 'this obscene sex of a photographed woman.' At artpress's 10th anniversary in December, editor Catherine Millet disclosed that Jacques Lacan owned the painting, which was hidden behind an André Masson piece before being donated to the Musée d'Orsay in 1995.