Madonna Nude Painting Sale

Queen Of Pop Madonna features in a new painting which is set to be auctioned later this week.

Madonna's marriage to Guy Ritchie united two potent artistic talents. At the time, Ritchie was a hot young British director fresh from the success of 'Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels'. Eager for his next project, the cinema star had his eyes on conquering Hollywood.

Meanwhile Madonna was still hot from the success of her 1998 album 'Ray Of Light'. Providing massive commercial rejuvenation for the singer, the album birthed some of Madonna's finest tracks to date including a string of massive singles.

Marrying in 2000, the couple seemed to be the ideal of domestic bliss. Seemingly capable of juggling their professional and private lives, the public were shocked when cracks began to appear in the relationship.

Friction between the two led to a quick divorce at the tail end of last year, with Madonna frequently making reference to the collapse of the marriage during her record breaking 'Sticky And Sweet' tour.

Taking in a huge variety of countries around the world, 'Sticky And Sweet' was one of the biggest live music events of last year. The highest grossing tour of 2008 it saw Madonna re-establish herself as the Queen Of Pop.

Despite the marriage being over, the relationship was immortalised in a new painting by Peter Howson in 2005. Causing a stir at the time, the painting features the singer and director naked in each other's arms.

Now the painting is due to be sold at auction in McTear's auction house in Glasgow. Brian Clements from the auctioneers told the Telegraph that "there is no doubt that the recent split of Madonna and Guy has generated increased interest in the painting".

"The painting created a huge amount of controversy when it was unveiled a few years ago and I think it's safe to say it is one of a kind," Clements added.

Of course, this isn't the first nude artwork to feature Madonna. Before she was famous the singer posed in a number of revealing photographs, which were discovered and printed by Playboy magazine in the mid 80s.

An original from the photo session sold at auction back in February for £25,000. Of course, the singer has also published her own photographs, with the book 'Sex' being published back in the early 90s.