La Maja vêtue

Around 1800 this woman existed in two paintings at once. Goya had already painted her lying in exactly this pose with nothing on, and the nude version hung in a private cabinet belonging to Manuel Godoy, the prime minister of Spain, in a room he kept for pictures that were not meant to be shown. This is the clothed one, made to sit over it, so that the naked figure could be revealed only when Godoy chose. Who she was has never been settled. Some have named the Duchess of Alba, others Godoy's mistress Pepita Tudo, and the argument has never closed. What is certain is that the Spanish Inquisition later took an interest. The nude was among the works seized and Goya was called to explain himself, and the two pictures were separated for years. They hang side by side now in the Prado, the same body dressed and undressed, and you can line up her hands, her ankles, the fold of the cushions and watch them match.