Though drastically different in style, this pair of genres had one important artist in common:Edouard Manet.
Through a contemporary lens,Olympiais embraced as an important precursor tomodern art.
In 1860, however, Manet’s work began to hint toward a new and avant-garde approach.
Édouard Manet, “Olympia,” 1863 (Photo:Wikimedia CommonsPublic Domain)
This reaction was primarily fueled by three characteristics of the painting.
Lastly, the figure’s self-assured and straight-ahead gaze was viewed as controversial.
It is this authenticity, however, that garnered the approval of Manet’s friends and fellow creatives.
Édouard Manet, “Music in the Tuileries,” 1862 (Photo:Wikimedia CommonsPublic Domain)
When our artists give us Venuses, they correct nature, they lie, writer Emile Zolasaidin 1863.
OlympiaToday
Along withThe Luncheon on the Grass,Olympiacurrently hangs in Paris’Musee d’Orsay.
Édouard Manet, “Olympia,” 1863 (detail)
