The artwork “Olympia,” created by Édouard Manet in 1863, is an oil on canvas that measures 130.5 x 190 cm. It represents the Realism art movement and falls within the genre of nude painting. This renowned work of art is housed in the Musée d’Orsay in Paris. As an iconic example of 19th-century avant-garde painting, “Olympia” has been instrumental in both art history and in discussions surrounding Manet’s approach to contemporary subject matter.
The artwork depicts a reclining nude woman, identified as Olympia, directly confronting the viewer with a steady and unabashed gaze. She is positioned on a bed with her head propped by pillows and one hand resting upon her thigh, subtly covering her pelvis. Her other hand lies gently on the bedding, and a black ribbon around her neck, along with a single flower in her hair and a bracelet, are her only adornments. Notably, she wears a pair of slippers.
The woman’s sharp gaze and her accessories suggest a sense of confidence and independence, which, at the time of the painting’s creation, contradicted the expected portrayals of passive female nudes in art. Olympia’s attendant, an African woman, stands to her right, holding a bouquet of flowers—likely a gift from a client. The boldness of Olympia’s gaze, paired with the implication of her being a courtesan, challenged the traditional representations of female nudes as objects of desire and passive beauty in art, leading to considerable controversy and critique at the time of its unveiling.
The dark background contrasts with the subject’s pale skin, drawing the viewer’s attention to her form and her confrontational gaze. The artwork departs from idealized classical representations and instead employs a more realistic, if not stark, portrayal of its subject, which aligns with the Realist movement’s aim to represent common subjects as they are, often with an unconventional or socially critical perspective.
