Art forgery, certainly false. Supposedly long-lost upper section of Gustave Courbet’s masterpiece The Origin of the World., 1866

The woman depicted is the irish redhead joanna hiffernan, who must have been around 23 when this work was painted. Joanna “jo” hiffernan (ca. 1843 – after 1903) was also the model of and romantically linked with american painter james abbott mcneill whistler, who painted her as the white girl. Courbet also painted her as la belle irlandaise and le sommeil. See also: experts argue head might not match courbet’s “origin” body. Object Type: painting. Date: 1866. Medium: oil on canvas. Collection: Musée d'Orsay. The Origin of the World (upper section)