So what shocked the critics? Was it the nudity? If that was the case, then why, as surely paintings of nudes were quite common at that time. The subject of the oil on canvas painting caused a sensation. Ironically in 1876, one of her paintings was included in the Salon’s juried exhibition (exhibitions at which the works of art are only displayed if selected by a jury) and the painting which Manet put forward for selection was rejected. Victorine was also, besides being a famous model for painters, an artist in her own right and one who exhibited a number of works at the prestigious Paris Salon. The model for the painting was Victorine Meurent. In fact the inclusion of the small furry animal often had people naming the painting, Venus with a Cat. At the end of the bed, by the naked woman’s feet, we can just make out a small black cat. Olympia by Manet is My Daily Art Display featured painting today.īefore us we see an almost nude woman lying on a bed with a pink orchid tucked behind her left ear. His concern was well founded as it was considered the most shocking of all the works exhibited that year. The fact that Manet had completed the painting two years earlier but had not exhibited it makes one wonder whether Manet himself had doubts about the wisdom of launching such a contentious painting on the Parisian public.
He entered two paintings into the 1865 Salon and in fact one of the paintings entitled Olympia, was one he had completed two years earlier and it was this one which caused an even greater furore with both the public and critics alike. So did Manet, after the criticism and ridicule of his 1864 painting, submit a less contentious work the following season in 1865? The answer is simply a resounding NO. Yesterday we had reached 1864 the year when he exhibited his work entitled The Dead Christ with Angels at the Paris Salon and for which he was heavily criticised.
My Daily Art Display today continues with the life of Édouard Manet.
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