The Writer As Explorer

Felix-Jacque Moulin’s “Female Nude” was an influential piece of art history in the mid 1800’s. Moulin was sentenced to a month in prison after some of his nude art was seized by the police. After his incarceration he took more caution with his work by registering his work with the government so that he could claim official sanction. This photo was not signed, likely because he did not want to get in trouble for it, and due to the model’s particularly seductive stare, it is likely he would have faced legal consequences for this work. He worked in his studio in Paris, just like his character in Paris Red. I see Victorine in this work; her sly smile is indicative of the pleasure she takes in posing, in being seen. I’m curious if part of her character was based off of this photo and what Gibon saw in Moulin’s work.