The Stark Contrasts Between History’s Two Famous Female Nude Paintings

How Manet's Olympia reflected feminism in the 19th century

Olympia by Edouard Manet
Source-Wikipedia

The painting Olympia was created by a French modernist painter Édouard Manet in 1863 and the painting Venus of Urbino was created by the Italian painter Titian in 1534.

Both the paintings portray a “nude woman” reclining on a couch or bed. But Venus of Urbino was celebrated in the Italian Renaissance period while Manet’s Olympia was considered controversial and outrageous.

This article would explore the stark contrasts between the two compositions, symbolism in both paintings, and how Manet’s Olympia reflected feminism in the 19th century.

Manet’s “Olympia” and Titian’s “The Venus of Urbino”

Olympia (Left) and The Venus of Urbino (Right)
Source-Wikipedia

• The Venus of Urbino portrays a nude woman who reflects a goddess-like figure, Venus. While Olympia shows a nude woman who looks realistic and natural. In the 1860s, “Olympia” was a name associated with prostitutes in Paris.
• Olympia was believed to be modeled by Victorine Meurent, a French model for painters. An…