Olympia (Manet)

Title: Olympia (Manet)
Description: olympia is an 1863 oil painting by Édouard Manet, depicting a nude white woman 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.
Date: 1863 - 1865
Artsist: Manet, Édouard; Manet, Édouard, 1832-1883
Identifier: RF644; Musée d'Orsay
Terms: gaze (psychoanalytical concept); sex role; institutional racism
Material: Oil on canvas
Location: Rue de Lille 75343 Paris, France; Musée d'Orsay
Measurements: 130.5 cm × 190 cm (51.4 inches× 74.8 inches)
Technique: nudes (representations); painters (artists); oil paint (paint); oil painters
Analysis: Addressing voyeurism, power, and commodified female sexuality; contrasts a white nude with a Black servant:
(19th Century) In Olympia, Manet moves away from traditional images of passive, idealized nudes by depicting a woman who meets the viewer’s gaze. Instead of a mythological setting, her realistic look places her in the modern world and draws attention to the transactional nature of her sexuality. The Black maid beside her highlights racial hierarchies and reinforces the idea of whiteness as the main beauty standard. These elements invite viewers to question the power dynamics behind the male gaze.
Movement: modernist; Realism; Impressionism
Rights: IN COPYRIGHT - EDUCATIONAL USE PERMITTED