The Sunlit Pool of the Finished Image

Exploring the themes of sexual objectification and the female experience, this novel gives voice to Gustave Courbet's infamous painting, L'Origine du Monde. It traces the artwork's journey from its creation in 1866 through significant historical contexts, including revolutionary Paris and Nazi-occupied Budapest, to the emergence of French psychoanalysis in the 1960s. By incorporating the perspectives of women who were exploited as models, the narrative challenges societal perceptions of iconic images and reexamines their impact on women's identities.