File:Edouard_Manet_-_Olympia_-_Google_Art_ProjectFXD.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
Key facts
- Artist
- Édouard Manet
- Year
- 1863–1865
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- 130.5 cm × 190 cm (51.4 in × 74.8 in)
- Location
- Musée d'Orsay , Paris
via Wikipedia infobox
~17 min read
Encyclopedic overview
Olympia is an 1863 oil painting by Édouard Manet, depicting a nude white woman ("Olympia") lying on a bed being attended to by a black maid. The French government acquired the painting in 1890 after a public subscription organized by Claude Monet. The painting is now in the Musée d'Orsay, Paris.
The figure of Olympia was modeled by 19 year-old Victorine Meurent, and that of her servant by Laure. Olympia's confrontational gaze caused shock and controversy when the painting was first exhibited at the 1865 Paris Salon, especially because a number of details in the picture identified her as a prostitute.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Olympia” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.