Olympia

Olympia is an oil painting created by Édouard Manet in 1863. The painting measures 51 1/4 x 74 3/4 inches, conveying a life-size quality confrontational for its time. It depicts a nude prostitute reclining on a bed with her servant, rendered in a bold, nearly photographic style.  It provides insight into Manet’s aim to capture modern themes in a Realist manner, eschewing idealization for a frank portrayal of contemporary Parisian life.
Manet was a leading Realist painter known for scenes of modern life. His paintings incorporated unconventional subjects such as prostitutes and sensual encounters between individuals, often in public or semi-public spaces. Manet developed a spontaneous and socially detached painting style influenced by photography. Olympia highlights Manet’s distinctive Realist aesthetic through its daring subject matter, frontal female nude and allusion to sexual transaction in Second Empire society.
Olympia gazes confidently at the viewer, an African servant attending with a floral bouquet. Manet’s bold cropping, asymmetrical composition and brazen subject signify an alignment with avant-garde ideals of Art for Art’s sake – an approach indifferent to social mores. His flattened planes of color and frank depiction of his model convey themes of urban sexuality, commerce and objectification antithetical to Salon tastes. The figure’s minimal drapery and direct stare court controversy, allude to the candid Braquemart paintings that Velázquez Manet admired.
Other famous works by Manet include A Bar at the Folies-Bergère, Luncheon on the Grass and The Execution of Maximilian. Manet was a leading Realist painter known for incorporating unconventional subjects and a socially detached style influenced by photography. He gave shape to modern life through color caught unawares.