File talk:Origin-of-the-World.jpg

 

 

A work of Art

In the light of what has being happening lately and in view of the placing of a SpeedyDelete tag today by an anon IP user who clearly is familiar with Commons ([1]), it would seem appropriate to note that L’Origine du monde is widely regarded as a modern masterpiece with an important place in art history. There are enough interwiki links to prove that anyway, but for the record it is on public display at one of the world's leading museums, the Musée d'Orsay in Paris. According to postcard sales at the gallery, L’Origine du monde is the second most popular painting in the Musée d’Orsay, after Renoir’s Bal du moulin de la Galette. It seems crazy to have to point this out, but given the agenda of Fox News Corporation and others of emasculating Wikipedia it seems neccessary, regrettably, to take this pre-emptive measure. Anatiomaros (talk) 18:57, 9 May 2010 (UTC)

• I expect some foul intention on behalf of that user. Admittedly when I first checked it out I thought "well this could be some random vagoo" but when we look at the other previous versions showing viewers in an art gallery, it is clear that these are notable enough to be hosted in museums. If images so easily verified as this are being marked for speedy deletion, I can only wonder how many others without associated art gallery perspectives are also being threatened. Ty (talk) 02:46, 13 May 2010 (UTC)
  • Indeed, and it's almost impossible for a single person to keep an eye on them all - I have some things on my watchlist but it's long enough already. Perhaps we should change the rules so that if a file is nominated for Speedy by an anon IP it should never be deleted that way, giving the sysop who deals with it the option of either declining and removing the tag or, if he/she feels there may indeed be a possible case for deletion, putting it through the normal AfD process? In this case refusing the Speedy and leaving it at that was the right option, of course. We should also make a very clear policy that any properly licensed historical work of art is automatically exempt from Speedy. In fact, it shouldn't even be considered for deletion at all unless there is an ownership/copyright problem. Finally, if paintings as famous as this can be targeted by "morally righteous" vandals it shows we need to be constantly alert to the threat. Anatiomaros (talk) 23:20, 13 May 2010 (UTC)