side, although others have suggested that they were intended to be spaced apart, and seen in succession. Identity of the model It has been conjectured that the woman depicted was Prime Minister Godoy's young mistress Pepita Tudó. It has also been suggested that the woman was María del Pilar Teresa Cayetana de Silva y Álvarez de Toledo, 13th Duchess of Alba, with whom Goya is rumored to have been romantically involved and whose portrait he painted twice (in 1795 and 1797). However, many scholars have rejected this possibility, including Australian art critic Robert Hughes in his 2003 biography Goya. Many agree that Pepita Tudó is a more likely candidate. Others believe that the woman is a composite of several different models. The word maja is the feminine form of majo, a low class Spaniard of the 18th and 19th century. Influence The work has inspired other artists. Jeffrey Meyers, in his book Impressionist Quartet: The Intimate Genius of Manet and Morisot, Degas and Cassatt, opines that Manet's Olympia "boldly alluded to another masterpiece, Goya's Naked Maja." Two sets of stamps depicting La maja desnuda in commemoration of Goya's work were privately produced in 1930 and later approved by the Spanish Postal Authority. The novel The Naked Maja (by Samuel Edwards, 1959) is based on Goya's affairs with the Duchess. Later that same year, an Italian-French-American co-production film based on this novel (sharing the same name) was made by S.G.C., Titanus Films, and United Artists. The painting figures into the plot of film Toto in Madrid, an Italian comedy film from 1959, directed by Steno, written by Vittorio Metz, starring Totò and Louis de Funès. See also List of works by Francisco Goya 100 Great Paintings, 1980 BBC series References and sources Sources Connell, Evan S. Francisco Goya: A Life. New York: Counterpoint, 2004. Hughes, Robert. Goya. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2004. Portús, Javier. Nudes and Knights: A Context for Venus, in Carr, Dawson W. Velázquez. Ed. Dawson W. Carr; also Xavier Bray, Javier Portús and others. National Gallery London, 2006. Tomlinson, Janis A. Goya in the Twilight of Enlightenment. Yale University Press, 1992. External links Prado page on The Naked Maja 1800 paintings Paintings by Francisco Goya in the Museo del Prado Obscenity controversies in painting Erotic art Nude art