Fig leaf

Eugen Sandow as the "Dying Gaul"

A fig leaf is the covering up of an act or an object that is embarrassing or disagreeable. The term is a metaphorical reference to the Biblical Book of Genesis, in which Adam and Eve use fig leaves to cover themselves after they realize that they are naked.

This phrase can be confused with olive branch (often "extend an olive branch"), which is a peace offering. In the context of negotiation, an offer might be characterized as "fig leaf" if that offer is actually a ploy to conceal a sinister plan.

A statue of Mercury holding the caduceus in the Vatican, with a fig leaf placed over the genitalia. The fig leaf was placed there under the more "chaste" popes; later, most were removed.

During the Hellenism, the European Renaissance and other periods, nudity was a common feature in art. However, during more modest times, such as the Victorian Period, many such statues and paintings were "chastened" by putting leaves over the subjects' genitalia. Many of these alterations have since been reversed, damaging some of the statues.

Eugen Sandow, often considered the first modern-day body-builder, was an admirer of the human physique, and, in addition to strongman sideshows, performed "muscle displays" by posing in the nude — save for a fig leaf he would don, in imitation of statues he had seen in Italy as a boy.

External references

• David's Fig Leaf, in the sculpture collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum