Melania Trump Defends Nude Modeling Work With References to John Collier’s ‘Lady Godiva’ and Michelangelo’s ‘David’

In a video clip posted to social media Wednesday, former First Lady Melania Trump defended her prior history of nude modeling by comparing it to several classical paintings and sculptures, including Michelangelo’s David.

In the 45-second video, Trump speaks in a voice-over asking, “Are we no longer able to appreciate the beauty of the human body?”

“Throughout history, master artists have revered the human shape, evoking profound emotions and admiration,” she continues. “We should honor our bodies and embrace the timeless tradition of using art as a powerful means of self-expression.”

Images of David, John Collier’s Lady Godiva (1897), a painting from Paul Cézanne’s “Bathers” series, and other works appear in the background as Trump talks.

While, in the video, Trump references media scrutiny over her nude modeling, it’s not clear what exactly prompted the video.

Her modeling career was briefly an issue during the 2016 campaign when an anti-Trump, pro–Ted Cruz super PAC circulated an ad featuring an image of the future First Lady from an ad shoot. Around the same time, the New York Post published a story uncovering her nude modeling work from 1996 in the French magazine Max. In 1999, she posed nude for British GQ aboard Donald Trump’s private jet. In a story for ABC from 2016 with the headline “The Naked Truth About Melania from the Man Who Disrobed Her,” photographer Antoine Verglas said of the January 2000 cover, “There is nothing pornographic in an image like that. It’s a gorgeous image of her.”

Trump’s modeling has not come up during the current election, nor during the 2020 campaign. However, she is set to release a memoir on October 8 and the modeling video appears to be part of a series meant to promote the book, according to the New York Times.