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Olympia is an 1863 oil painting by Édouard Manet, depicting a nude white woman ("Olympia") 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.

The figure of Olympia was modeled by 19 year-old Victorine Meurent, and that of her servant by Laure. Olympia's confrontational gaze caused shock and controversy when the painting was first exhibited at the 1865 Paris Salon, especially because a number of details in the picture identified her as a prostitute.

The title of the painting is generally attributed to Manet's close friend Zacharie Astruc, an art critic and artist, since an excerpt from one of Astruc's poems was included in the catalogue entry along with Olympia when it was first exhibited in 1865.

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Contemporary audiences were shocked by Olympia's confrontational gaze, combined with details identifying her as a demi-mondaine, or courtesan. These include the fact that the name "Olympia" was associated with prostitutes in 1860s Paris.

The orchid flower in her hair, her bracelet, pearl earrings, the oriental shawl on which she lies, and the upright black cat are symbols of wealth and sensuality. The black ribbon choker around her neck, in contrast with her pale skin and cast-off slipper, emphasizes the voluptuous atmosphere.

The painting takes inspiration from Titian's Venus of Urbino (c. 1534). Whereas the left hand of Titian's Venus is curled and appears to entice, Olympia's left hand appears to block, which has been interpreted as symbolic of her role as a prostitute, granting access to her body in return for payment. Manet replaced the little dog (symbol of fidelity) in Titian's painting with a black cat, a creature associated with nocturnal promiscuity. The aroused posture of the cat was provocative; in French, chatte (cat) is slang for female genitalia. In the background of Titian's painting is a myrtle bush, a symbol of marriage and fidelity, planted in a sturdy pot. In a reversal of this symbolism, Olympia is presented by her servant with cut flowers wrapped in flimsy paper – something destined to fade quickly and be discarded. Olympia disdainfully ignores the flowers, which have been interpreted as a gift from one of her clients. Some have suggested that she could be 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. Unlike the smooth idealized nude of Alexandre Cabanel's La naissance de Vénus, also painted in 1863, Olympia is portrayed as a real woman whose nakedness is emphasized by the harsh lighting. That she displays no embarrassment at her nudity – and is depicted matter-of-factly as a contemporary Parisian woman rather than a character from history or mythology – offended and shocked viewers. The canvas is 130.5 × 190 cm (51.4 × 74.8 inches), a large size that was conventionally associated with edifying depictions of episodes from history or mythology, not tawdry scenes of prostitution. Finally, Olympia is fairly thin by the artistic standards of the time. Charles Baudelaire thought thinness was more indecent than fatness.

The model for Olympia, Victorine Meurent, started modeling when she was sixteen years old and later became an accomplished painter in her own right. Her paintings were exhibited in the Paris Salon in 1876, 1879, 1885, and 1904.

Critical reaction

Though Manet's The Luncheon on the Grass (Le déjeuner sur l'herbe) had 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." The critics and the public condemned the work alike.……

节选，摘自英文维基百科「Olympia (Manet)」，按 CC BY-SA 4.0 使用。