Clémentine Portier-Kaltenbach 4:45 p.m., July 05, 2022

In 2018, the French researcher Claude Schopp discovers the identity of the woman who served as a model for Gustave Courbet for his famous painting.

This is the dancer Constance Queniaux, mistress of the Turkish-Egyptian diplomat Khalil-Bey.

A flamboyant figure in Tout-Paris in the 1860s, he was also the first owner of “L'Origine du monde”.

But an addiction to gambling will force Khalil-Bey to part with his collection of paintings to settle his debts.

“The Origin of the World” will pass through the hands of several owners before landing in the collections of the Musée d'Orsay.