Can YOU spot the phallic symbols in this Gainsborough masterpiece ‘painted out of revenge’?

A CLASSIC painting, long considered a masterpiece, may actually be covered in rude references placed there by the crafty artist centuries ago.

Mr. and Mrs. Robert Andrews is one of the finest works by painter Thomas Gainsborough – a renowned English artist.

Painted in 1748, the artwork supposedly celebrates the marriage of a loving young couple, with space left on the bride’s lap for a child to later be painted in.

But the reports that the piece may actually be a work of revenge, littered with phallic symbols and mocking references.

Supposedly, the man in the painting, Mr Andrews, is sporting a bag on his hip which looks more like a whole different kind of sack.

Meanwhile a pair of donkeys, representing the couple, is tucked away to the side, and there is allegedly even a crude sketch of a penis scribbled over Mrs Andrews’ lap.

The story goes that Gainsborough has been friends with the couple in the painting, but they fell out before it had been completed.

So, to exact his revenge, the artist added in a phallic sack and the suggestion that his former pals were donkeys.

Just to top it all off – perhaps in a moment of intense rage – Gainsborough also ended up scribbling a doodle of a penis in the woman’s unfinished lap, where a child was supposed to be painted.

This is all according to art historian James Hamilton, who has penned a biography on Thomas Gainsborough – and now thinks his famous painting should be reappraised.

He said: “Certain signs point towards the painter’s revenge. Something went very wrong.

“Gainsborough was a randy gentleman living in a randy age. Sexual innuendo and graffiti were not foreign to him.

“A painting with such a high finish and express detail as Mr and Mrs Andrews would not have been left [partly unfinished] and delivered without a clear understanding, serious discussion or a fundamental falling out.

“It was never given a title, it was never engraved, and was put away out of the public gaze until the 20th century when all involved were long dead and whatever controversy there was forgotten.”

The painting is currently hanging at the National Gallery, where it has been on proud display since the 60s.

But the naughty details could yet prove to be a little too much for delicate curators, who had previously described the rude artwork as “the masterpiece of Gainsborough’s early years”.

Previously, we told how a piece of bonkers artwork depicting buildings having sex had to be axed from a top art show because it was too rude.

We also reported that the woman who flashed her genitals in front of the Mona Lisa is going to be prosecuted for her bizarre stunt.