Inspired by Charles Baudelaire’s poem Femmes damnees Delphine et Hippolyte (Damned Women Delphine and Hippolyte) from his famous collection Fleurs du mal (Flowers of Evil) which had resulted in prosecution, a hefty fine and the suppression of six poems as an insult to public decency upon its initial publication, Courbet’s masterful realist erotic painting Le Sommeil (The Sleepers) with its provocative depiction of lesbianism led to a police report when it was first shown in 1872 and was not subsequently allowed to be publicly exhibited until 1988.
1866 was also the year that Courbet completed a commission for his most famous erotic painting L’Origine du monde (The Origin of the World) with its graphic close up view of a naked woman’s genitals and abdomen. In February 2016 a Paris court has ruled that Facebook may be sued in France for removing the image from users pages.
cakeordeathsite 
Sad, “insult to public decency”. The true crime was hiding, “Le Sommeil” from the public for over 100 years. Ha-ha, Facebook attempting their own brand of censorship, what can we expect next? Excellent post Mr. Cake. ~ Miss Cranes
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Thank you, I was amazed at the Facebook censorship which happened only five years ago. Always watch out for the protectors of public decency, protecting us from ourselves.
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You’re very welcome Mr. Cake. *Laughing* I basically said something very similar on my side, although not as eloquently!
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One nude woman sleeping- masterpiece. Two nude women sleeping- pornography. Silly, really. Oh, Facebook is ridiculous. I saw Le Origine in D’Orsay years ago. It’s … Accurate! Enjoyed the post, Monsieur
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Thank you, I am glad you enjoyed. A little different but it had the Baudelaire connection to tie it to cake.
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Definitely falls in the category ‘what cake likes’ … And Mr. Cake has a good eye!
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Do I really? I hope so
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Yes, you do!
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So it only took till 1988 to exhibit it? Hey — that’s not too bad! He he. (I like what Copper Cranes calls you, by the way. I’m gonna start calling you Mr. Cake.) 🙂
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I like being called Mr Cake, please go right ahead
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I love it. Certainly gives a different meaning to “Bonjour, Monsieur Courbet.” I also love flitting from page to page like this. There are many things I would otherwise have missed, especially as a nouveau venu.
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Well you are one of my favourite newcomers, plus you are Welsh so that helps.
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Bloody Facebook!
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I am not really in Facebook which makes people look at me funny. It is very hard to be anonymous in this day and age.
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Let them look, I usually take it as a compliment, I love not being part of the crowd
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It is getting harder though. Even our private personas seem to be dictated by the public sphere these days.
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I used that Other Courbet the other day as a header to one of my own erotic poems just the other day.
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