Fig leaf
In culture, a "fig leaf" or "fig-leaf" is a literal or figurative method of obscuring an act or object considered embarrassing or distasteful with something of innocuous appearance. The use of an actual fig leaf for the purpose originates in Western painting and sculpture, where leaves would be used by the artist themselves or by later censors in order to hide the genitalia of a subject. Use of the fig plant in particular came about as a Biblical reference to the Book of Genesis, in which Adam and Eve used fig leaves to cover their nudity after eating the forbidden fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.[2][3]
A "fig-leaf edition" of a work is known as an expurgation or Bowdlerization.
History
Ancient Greek art was dominated by the tradition of heroic nudity and a more general normalization of male nakedness, including the genitals, although the female vulval area was generally covered in art for public display. This tradition continued in Ancient Roman art until the conversion of the Roman Empire to Christianity, when such practices vanished entirely. During the Middle Ages, only the unfortunate (most often the damned) were usually shown naked, although the depictions were then often rather explicit.[4] Adam and Eve were often shown wearing fig or other leaves, following the Biblical description. This was especially a feature of Northern Renaissance art.
From about 1530, the growing response of the Catholic church to the Reformation ideologies that swept Europe and that led to the Council of Trent also led to a number of artworks, especially in churches or public places, being altered to reduce the amount of nudity on display.[5] Often, as in the famous case of Michelangelo's The Last Judgement, drapery or extra branches from any nearby bush was used. This has been dubbed the "fig leaf campaign".[5] For free-standing statues this did not work well, and carved or cast fig leaves were sometimes added, such as with the plaster copy of Michelangelo's David displayed in Victorian era London.[6] In the reign of Queen Victoria, display of male nudity was contentious and the Queen herself was said to find it shocking. The museum commissioned this fig leaf and kept it in readiness in case of a visit by the Queen or other female dignitaries: the fig leaf was then hung on the figure using a pair of hooks.[7] Historian Daniel J. Boorstin said that:
The age of the rising middle class in Victorian England was, or course, the age of the fig leaf. "The fig leaves of decent reticence" which Charles Kingsley described were applied not only to statuary but to literature as well.[8]
The Adam and Eve panels on the Ghent Altarpiece, already equipped with fig leaves by Jan van Eyck, were simply replaced with 19th-century panels copying the figures but clothed. Many of these alterations have since been reversed, damaging some of the statues.
Eugen Sandow, often considered the first modern-day bodybuilder, was an admirer of the masculine physique, encapsulated in a Greco-Roman musculature he termed the Grecian Ideal. In addition to strongman sideshows, he performed "muscle displays" by posing in the nude—save for a fig leaf that he would don in further emulation of statues he described seeing in Italy as a boy.[9]
Modern era
The expression fig leaf has a pejorative metaphorical sense meaning a flimsy or minimal cover for anything or behaviour that might be considered shameful, with the implication that the cover is only a token gesture and the truth is obvious to all who choose to see it.[10]
A metaphorical fig leaf is something visible but innocuous, as against a coverup in which the existence of something may be entirely hidden. In the context of negotiation, an offer might be characterized as a "fig leaf" if that offer is actually a ploy to conceal a sinister plan.[citation needed]
Gallery
- The Expulsion from the Garden of Eden, by Masaccio, before and after restoration. It was painted in 1425, covered up in 1680, and restored in 1980.
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- Perseus and Andromeda, fig leaf copy of original relief work
- Adam is Tempted by Eve by James Tissot
See also
Citations
- ^ "Fig-leaf for Michelangelo's David". Collections. V&A Museum. Retrieved 5 March 2009.
- ^ Genesis 3:7. WikiSource. "...and they sewed fig leaves and made themselves waist-belts"
- ^ "Genesis 3:7 (several translations)". BibleGateway.com. Retrieved 2019-08-06.
- ^ Clark, Kenneth (1956). The Nude, A Study in Ideal Form. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-01788-3.
- ^ a b Babbs, Verity (2024-02-21). "Art Bites: How the Modesty Police Used Fig Leaves to Censor Nudes". Artnet News. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
- ^ "David's Fig Leaf". Victoria & Albert Museum. Archived from the original on 2007-06-03. Retrieved 2017-02-08.
- ^ "Fig-leaf for Michelangelo's David". Collections. V&A Museum. Retrieved 5 March 2009.
- ^ Boorstin, Daniel J. (1962). The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America. Knopf Doubleday Publishing. ISBN 978-0679741800.
- ^ Anderson, R. Christian. "Sandow Wearing a Figleaf". SandowMuseum.com. Retrieved 2007-05-29.
- ^ "Cable derides 'fig leaf' tax cuts". news.bbc.co.uk. 2008-11-24. Retrieved 2010-09-16.
General bibliography
- Kuh, Richard H (1967). Foolish Figleaves?: Pornography in and Out of Court (2nd ed.). Macmillan.
External links
- Museum Secrets: Fig leaf campaign Archived 2018-03-19 at the Wayback Machine
- Alberti's Window
- A Timeline of Early Modern Censorship
- The Prude Nude: Censorship and Cover-Ups in Art
- BBC: Fig Leaf: The Biggest Cover Up in History
- v
- t
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- Cain and Abel
- Aclima
- Luluwa
- Seth
- Awan
- Azura
- Jumella
- Adam–God doctrine
- Adam and Eve in Mormonism
- Adam in Islam
- Adam in rabbinic literature
- Al-A'raf
- Book of Moses
- Endowment
- Manu (Hinduism)
- Mashya and Mashyana
- Serpent seed
- Tree of Jiva and Atman
- Tree of life (Quran)
- Our Lady of Endor Coven
- Mama's Affair (1921)
- Good Morning, Eve! (1934)
- The Broken Jug (1937)
- The Original Sin (1948)
- The Private Lives of Adam and Eve (1960)
- El pecado de Adán y Eva (1969)
- La Biblia en pasta (1984)
- The Annunciation (1984)
- Second Time Lucky (1984)
- Adipapam (1988)
- Adam (1992)
- Babs (2000)
- The Last Eve (2005)
- Year One (2009)
- The Tragedy of Man (2011)
- Adam and Dog (2011)
- Tropico (2013)
- Le Jeu d'Adam (12th century)
- The Broken Jug (1808)
- The Tragedy of Man (1861)
- The Creation of the World and Other Business (1972)
- The Apple Tree (1966)
- Dude (1972)
- Up from Paradise (1973)
- Children of Eden (1991)
- The Creation (1798)
- La mort d'Adam (1809)
- Ève (1875)
- Genesis Suite (1945)
- Lilith (2001)
- Apocalypse of Adam
- Book of Moses
- Book of Abraham
- Books of Adam
- Book of the Penitence of Adam
- Cave of Treasures
- "El amigo de Él y Ella"
- Genesis A and Genesis B
- Harrowing of Hell
- Life of Adam and Eve
- Testament of Adam
- Testimony of Truth (3rd century)
- Conflict of Adam and Eve with Satan (6th century)
- "Old Saxon Genesis" (9th century)
- "Adam lay ybounden" (15th century)
- Paradise Lost (1667)
- Le Dernier Homme (1805)
- Extracts from Adam's Diary (1904)
- Eve's Diary (1905)
- The Book of Genesis (2009)
- The Rise and Fall of Adam and Eve (2017)
- Bernward Doors (1015)
- Tapestry of Creation (11th century)
- Expulsion from the Garden of Eden (1425)
- Vienna Diptych (15th century)
- The Last Judgment (1482)
- The Garden of Earthly Delights (1504)
- Adam and Eve (1507)
- Paradise and Hell (1510)
- The Creation of Adam (1512)
- The Haywain Triptych (1516)
- Eve, the Serpent and Death (1510s or 1520s)
- Adam and Eve (1528)
- Adam and Eve (1550)
- The Fall of Man (1550)
- Adam and Eve (c. 1550)
- The Garden of Eden with the Fall of Man (1617)
- The Fall of Man (1628)
- The Four Seasons (1660s)
- The Koren Picture-Bible (1692–1696)
- Paradise Lost (19th century)
- Expulsion from the Garden of Eden (1828)
- The First Mourning (1888)
- Adam and Eve (1905)
- Adam and Eve (1909)
- Eve (1931)
- Adam and Eve (1932)
- The Serpent Chooses Adam and Eve (1958)
- "Dese Bones G'wine Rise Again"
- "Adam-ondi-Ahman" (1835)
- "Forbidden Fruit" (1915)
- "The Garden of Eden" (1956)
- "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" (1968)
- "Let's Give Adam and Eve Another Chance" (1970)
- "Man Gave Names to All the Animals" (1979)
- The Cainian Chronicle (1996)
- Visions of Eden (2006)
- Snakes for the Divine (2010)
- Doraemon: Nobita's Diary on the Creation of the World
- Island of Love
- The Visitors
- "Adam & Eve" (1992)
- "Probe 7, Over and Out" (1963)
- "Simpsons Bible Stories"
- "In-A-Gadda-Da-Leela"
- "Daesong Heavy Industries II: Return to Innocence"
- "Holly Bibble"
- Demon: The Fallen (2002)