Nude awakening: Sir Peter Lely's Nymphs by a Fountain

This painting gave birth to the Great British nude. The sensual Peter Lely has pictured a gathering of naked beauties draped in a tranquil corner of an English country park. They may look like they’re sleeping off a wild party on an aristrocratic estate but this is unlikely as Lely painted this scene around 1654, during the Puritan rule of Oliver Cromwell. That adds to the mystery of a painting that seems to tell a secret story. Who are the women? It is obvious they were modelled from life. Lely’s painting breathes sex and aristocracy Illustration: Trustees of Dulwich Picture Gallery