AN artist who painted a picture portraying Diana, Princess of Wales, as a half-naked Roman goddess yesterday rejected suggestions that the work was insensitive.
The picture, by Andre Durand, was unveiled by photographer Koo Stark - a former girlfriend of the Duke of York - at a ceremony at an art gallery at Kingston University, south west London.
The figurative, life-size painting - Mr Durand has named the work Fortuna after the Roman goddess of fertility and luck - shows Diana dancing on a crystal ball floating in the sea, the traditional representation of the goddess, and draped in a blue veil, with her right breast exposed. She is surrounded by an entourage of dolphins and horses with fish tails riding the waves.
Mr Durand, 50, who is resident artist at the Stanley Picker Gallery, said he did not think the canvas would cause unnecessary distress to Diana's sons, princes Harry and William. ''I imagine they would love this painting of Diana. I would like them to see it, I'm sure they would love it,'' he said. ''She is happy and laughing with a tan and the wind is in her hair.''
Mr Durand rejected the idea that his name for the work was tactless given the princess's tragic death in a road crash, saying that she was remembered for goddess-like ''prancing all over the world stage . . . with a bit of magic''.
He said: ''Diana is an icon for the new millennium, regardless of what is said about her personality. She is an inspiration to me and to others.''
The artist, who is also painting a portrait of Miss Stark's daughter Tatiana, added: ''She had goddess status and Fortuna reflects that. Nakedness was traditionally associated with goddesses in European art and Fortuna was the Roman goddess of good luck and fertility, closely associated with guiding boats to sea.''
But after the unveiling Miss Stark - who also presented the gallery with a print by Durand of the Dalai Lama, which had been blessed by the Tibetan spiritual leader - refused to talk to reporters about the Fortuna painting, turning on her heels and striding out of the gallery.
Buckingham Palace refused to comment.
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