Friday, October 2, 2009

Priapus' Penus: Pornographic Portrait


A Brazilian art restorer has discovered a new layer hidden in a centuries-old painting of the Greek God of fertility Priapus, by French artist Nicolas Poussin -- the deity's erect penis.

"They hid the phallus of Priapus. It's what we call adjustment for modesty, and it's not uncommon," said professional restorer Regina Pinto Moreira. She suspects the cover-up was made in conservative Catholic Spain in the 18th century.

Moreira, who worked as a master art restorer at the Louvre in Paris for some 30 years, spent eight months alongside two French experts restoring Poussin's large 1634-1638 painting "Hymenaios Disguised as a Woman During an Offering to Priapus." The painting depicts Hymenaios, the Greek god of marriage ceremonies, dressed as a woman and dancing with Priapus, who was traditionally depicted with an erect penis.

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