Paris, 1863–1906

Édouard Manet

Olympia

1863

Oil on canvas, 51 1/2 × 75 1/4 in. Musée d'Orsay, Paris

Édouard Manet (French, 1832–1883). Look at how little shading there is on the body: Manet paints it as a pale, nearly flat shape.

Look at

• Light falls straight from the front, so there are almost no shadows.
• The flowers and the shawl are quick, loose touches of color.
• The whites of the sheets and pillows are laid on in broad strokes.
• The dark green and brown background pushes the pale figure forward.

• First shown at the Salon of 1865, the state-run exhibition in Paris, where it caused a scandal.

Image: Wikimedia Commons · Public domain