Lesson plan
Fig leaf
in the Cast Courts of the Victoria and Albert Museum. Today, the fig leaf is no longer used, but it is displayed in a case at the back of the cast's plinth. "Fig leaf" is an idiom for obscuring an act or object considered embarrassing or distasteful with something of innocuous appearance. The literal use of a fig leaf for this purpose originates in Western painting and sculpture, where leaves would be used by artists themselves or by later censors in order to hide the genitalia of a subject. Use of the fig plant in particular came about as a Biblical reference to the Book of Genesis, in which Adam and Eve used fig leaves to cover their nudity after eating the forbidden fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. A "fig-leaf edition" of a work is known as an expurgation or Bowdlerization.
Article summary
in the Cast Courts of the Victoria and Albert Museum. Today, the fig leaf is no longer used, but it is displayed in a case at the back of the cast's plinth. "Fig leaf" is an idiom for obscuring an act or object considered embarrassing or distasteful with something of innocuous appearance. The literal use of a fig leaf for this purpose originates in Western painting and sculpture, where leaves would be used by artists themselves or by later censors in order to hide the genitalia of a subject. Use of the fig plant in particular came about as a Biblical reference to the Book of Genesis, in which Adam and Eve used fig leaves to cover their nudity after eating the forbidden fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. A "fig-leaf edition" of a work is known as an expurgation or Bowdlerization.
Key claims
No claims recorded.
Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
Bibliography
No sources recorded.
Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.