Controversial Courbet Tagged With ‘Me Too’ Graffiti

Two women were arrested by French police on Monday at the Centre Pompidou-Metz after they targeted The Origin of the World (1866) by Gustave Courbet, a provocative painting centered on a nude torso and exposed vulva, spray painting it with the words “Me Too.” Police said that the Courbet was protected by a “glass pane” and will be assessed for damage. It was on loan from the Centre Pompidou in Paris as part of an exhibition on the French psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan, who once owned the painting. The women were performance artists working with artist and activist Deborah de Robertis, who has previously made headlines for appearing naked in front of Édouard Manet’s Olympia (1863) and the Mona Lisa, in acts of performance-protest. A video of the protest has been released on Vimeo. De Robertis organized the action as part of a performance work called You Don’t Separate the Woman from the Artist. The title is an apparent nod to ongoing debates surrounding whether art can be appreciated regardless of the ill actions of the creator—specifically men who are abusive towards women. The artist told the AFP the actions were a feminist performance, carried out because “the very closed world...