AceShowbiz -

Michelle Obama is undressed in a jaw-dropping picture gracing the front page of a Spanish magazine. The face of the U.S. First Lady is superimposed by artist Karine Percheron-Daniels onto Marie-Guillemine Benoist's "Portrait d'une negresse" painting.

The altered portrait depicts Michelle as a 19th century French slave wearing a white headdress and a white gown that exposes one of her nipples. In a cover story inside the magazine, she was called "gran mujer" or a great woman for successfully winning the hearts of American people.

The picture caused controversy soon after it was released with many claiming it's racist. Karine defended herself, "I am not a racist: I admire people regardless of their colour and this picture was ment (sic) to be a tribute....totally lost in translation . With my art I try and show beauty NOT DIRT."

The artist who's known for her nude series wrote on her official website, "If any of you have found this piece of art insulting I would like to say that my GENUINE intention was never to chock or upset anyone. I created this picture as part of a series of other famous nudes."

"In my eyes , the picture I created here is of a beautiful woman with a beautiful message : The first Lady of America in the first time in history is a black woman who proudly and confidently displays her WOMANHOOD (the nude) her ROOTS (the slave) and her POWER(the First Lady of America embraced by the American flag)."

"As an artist I only paint and create pictures of people I admire and feel passionate about [and] Michelle Obama is one of these people," she also stated. "This picture, is a celebration of EVERYTHING GOOD, it is a celebration of achievment (sic) and in my opinion is not a racist slur."

Marie-Guillemine Benoist's "Portrait d'une negresse" Painting: