«Nude, or rather, Model. The renowned Napierkowska stars in this film in «natural colors». The refined nature of the scenes and the great art of this silent film diva will bring audiences, particularly fond of the great actress, in throngs.» («Corriere della Sera», 9/3/1917).

The film is also known by the title Flora la modella. It ran into a few problems with the censors, and indeed the third act shows their intervention. The phrase in the intertitle stating «We’re sure that nude will grow in value» became «We’re sure it will grow in value». Even the title, originally supposed to correspond to the story – Nuda – written by Washington Borg, was changed. The film was distributed in Italy only after the first release in Paris, held on 27 October 1916; it hit Italian theaters in March of the following year.
The star of La modella was Stacia Napierkowska, a Franco-polish dancer who had become famous for the Pathé film Notre Dame de Paris, directed by Albert Capellani in 1911. The film wasn’t just a success, it was truly a blockbuster, and in one of the regular meetings between Lo Savio, Falena and Charles Pathé, the two Italians stated their mind, saying «We want her here with us.» (Henri Bousquet, Vittorio Martinelli, in «Immagine», n. 8, 1988) Initially, Pathé turned a deaf ear because he preferred to present the actress alongside big names like Max Linder and Louis Feuillade. However, in 1914, when he was forced to downsize his activities due to the start of WWI, he decided to send Napierkowska to Italy. She appeared in nineteen different films for FAI, many of which were directed by Ugo Falena, thus becoming the prima donna of the Italian production company.

Restoration of the film started from an original nitrate negative found at the Cinémathèque Française. through interpretation of the color codes written on the film and use of Desmetcolor, it was possible to return the print to its original, characteristic colors. The intertitles were missing from the print and were therefore reconstructed from non-filmic materials.

Alessia Navantieri, Michele Canosa