Manet, Edouard - Olympia - old French art postcard

Art Postcard

 

• Work of art title: Olympia
• Artist (if known): Eduard Manet (1833-1883)
• Media or other details:  painting
• Publisher / Gallery: Musee de Louvre, c.1920s
• Postally used:  no
• Stamp & postmark details (if relevant): na
• Size: standard
• Notes & condition details:

NOTES:

Size: 'Modern' is usually around 6in x 4in / 'Old Standard' is usually around 5 1/2in x 3 1/2in. Larger sizes mentioned, but if you need to know the exact size please ask.

All postcards are not totally new and are pre-owned. It's inevitable that older cards may show signs of ageing and use, particularly sent through the post. Any faults other than normal ageing are noted.

Stock No.:A285

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Postage & Packing:

UK (incl. IOM, CI & BFPO): 99p

Europe: GBP 1.60

Rest of world (inc. USA etc): GBP 2.75

No additional charges for more than one postcard. You can buy as many postcards from me as you like and you will just pay the fee above once. (If buying postcards with other things such as books, please contact or wait for invoice before paying).

Payment Methods:

UK - PayPal, Cheque (from UK bank) or postal order

Outside UK: PayPal or Google Checkout ONLY please.   NO non-UK currency checks or money orders (sorry).

NOTE: All postcards are sent in brand new stiffened envelopes which I have bought for the task. These are specially made to protect postcards and you may be able to re-use them. In addition there are other costs to sending so the above charge is not just for the stamp!

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Text from the free encyclopedia WIKIPEDIA may appear below to give a little background information:

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Olympia is an oil on canvas painting by �douard Manet. Painted in 1863, it measures 130.5 by 190 centimetres (51 x 74.8 in). The nation of France acquired the painting in 1890 with a public subscription organized by Claude Monet. It is now in the Mus�e d'Orsay, Paris.

Though Manet's The Luncheon on the Grass (Le d�jeuner sur l'herbe) sparked controversy in 1863, his Olympia stirred an even bigger uproar when it was first exhibited at the 1865 Paris Salon. Conservatives condemned the work as ""immoral"" and ""vulgar."" Journalist Antonin Proust later recalled, ""If the canvas of the Olympia was not destroyed, it is only because of the precautions that were taken by the administration."" However, the work had proponents as well. �mile Zola quickly proclaimed it Manet's ""masterpiece"" and added, ""When other artists correct nature by painting Venus they lie. Manet asked himself why he should lie. Why not tell the truth?""

The painting was inspired by Titian's Venus of Urbino, which in turn refers to Giorgione's Sleeping Venus.^[1] There is also some similarity to Francisco Goya's La maja desnuda (c. 1800).

There were also pictorial precedents for a nude woman, attended by a black servant, such as Ingres' Odalisque with a Slave (1842), L�on Benouville's Esther with Odalisque (1844) and Charles Jalabert's Odalisque (1842).^[2] Comparison is also made to Ingres' La grande Odalisque (1814). Unlike other artists, Manet did not depict a goddess or an odalisque but a high-class prostitute waiting for a client.

What shocked contemporary audiences was not Olympia's nudity, nor even the presence of her fully clothed maid, but her confrontational gaze and a number of details identifying her as a demi-mondaine or courtesan. These include the orchid in her hair, her bracelet, pearl earrings and the oriental shawl on which she lies, symbols of wealth and sensuality. The black ribbon around her neck, in stark contrast with her pale flesh, and her cast-off slipper underline the voluptuous atmosphere. Whereas Titian's Venus delicately covers her vulva, Olympia's hand firmly protects hers, as if to emphasize her independence and sexual dominance over men. Manet replaced the little dog (symbol of fidelity) in Titian's painting with a black cat, which symbolized prostitution. Olympia disdainfully ignores the flowers presented to her by her servant, probably a gift from a client. Some have suggested that she is looking in the direction of the door, as her client barges in unannounced.

The painting deviates from the academic canon in its style, characterized by broad, quick brushstrokes, studio lighting that eliminates mid-tones, large color surfaces and shallow depth. Instead of a smooth idealised nude, as in Alexandre Cabanel's La naissance de V�nus (also painted in 1863), Manet painted a real woman, whose nakedness is starkly emphasized by the harsh light.

The model, Victorine Meurent, went on to become an accomplished painter in her own right.