It’s no secret that Internet headline generator Matt Drudge is obsessed, much like the rest of Washington’s press corps, with ex-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton: Her ambition, her hatred of the press, her age. It’s no secret, either, that Clinton is 66 years old. So why is Drudge depicting Clinton with a bizarre Photoshop of a 16th-century painting?

Since May 14, and until shortly before this post was published, The Drudge Report has featured a black-and-white crop of an altered composite, originally published on the website FreakingNews.com, of Hillary Clinton as the woman portrayed in “Avarice,” a 1507 oil painting by the German painter Albrecht Dürer.

Besides Clinton’s face, the artist of the new composite, PixJockey, added what appears to be a metal nipple guard in the shape of a pacifier and a $ sign to the bag’s exterior. “It’s only a joke, of course,” the artist wrote.

Drudge seems to have discovered the cropped version through a Google Images search for “old hillary clinton.” (You have to scroll down quite a bit to find the website hosting the photo he eventually used.)

The photo anchored several links to articles about Clinton’s age and health:

Former press secretary: Hillary might not run...

Clintons seek to show new vigor amid age worries...

'She works out every week'...

FLASHBACK: KEEPS FALLING...

VIDEO: Young Supporters Struggle to Name Her Achievements...

Still, Drudge couldn’t exactly hide his delight at finding this new (and fake) photo of Clinton. Shortly before uploading it to The Drudge Report, he tweeted:

[Photo credit: Drudge Report Archives, Wikipedia, FreakingNews; H/T Gabriel Snyder]