Displayed at · 1986
Gare d'Orsay
The painting was assigned to the Musée d'Orsay in 1986. The museum occupies the former Gare d'Orsay; collection membership does not guarantee current gallery display.
Painting
Olympia
Édouard Manet's Olympia shows a reclining nude receiving flowers from an attendant. Painted in 1863 and exhibited at the Salon in 1865, it gave a familiar pose from older art a contemporary Parisian subject.
- 1863
- Oil on canvas
About Édouard Manet
The woman looking out of the painting
Édouard Manet places Olympia almost parallel to the picture's lower edge. Her body extends across white cushions and bedding. Her face turns toward the viewer, while an attendant stands behind her with a wrapped bouquet.
The pose is relaxed enough for reclining, but the gaze is direct. A black ribbon around her neck draws attention to the contrast between the pale skin and dark background.
Small objects remain clearly visible: a bracelet, a flower in her hair, slippers, and a black cat at the foot of the bed. Manet allows these details to interrupt the larger areas of skin and cloth.
Why the 1865 Salon audience objected
Olympia was painted in 1863, but its public scandal belongs to the Salon of 1865. The Metropolitan Museum identifies its subject as a contemporary prostitute receiving a client. The nude was not presented as a goddess or a figure from a distant past.
The Musée d'Orsay also stresses the response to Manet's handling of paint. Abrupt changes between light and dark and limited soft shading made the figure look different from the smoothly modeled bodies favored in academic painting.
An older pose with a different setting
Manet drew on the reclining nude tradition, especially Titian's Venus of Urbino. That connection helps explain why a recognizable composition could still trouble its audience. The modern room, attendant, and accessories changed how the body was understood.
Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe, also painted in 1863, uses a related approach. Manet takes arrangements familiar from older art and places them alongside contemporary clothing and direct looks toward the viewer.
The two models and the painting's later history
Victorine Meurent posed for the reclining Olympia, and a model named Laure posed for the attendant holding the flowers. Meurent was also a painter; Laure worked as a nursemaid in Paris and modeled for other works by Manet. The roles represented in a painting do not establish either model's occupation or biography.
Claude Monet led the public subscription that secured Olympia for the French state in 1890. It is now in the Musée d'Orsay collection.
Close reading
Reading the work, detail by detail
The body, flowers, and bedding contain most of the painting's light areas. Smaller dark details interrupt them and direct attention toward the figure's face and hands.
1.Olympia looks toward the viewer
Her eyes face outward rather than turning toward the attendant. The black ribbon gives a sharp boundary at the base of the pale neck.
2.The hand has a firm outline
The hand is placed flat, with fingers plainly separated. Its dark contour makes the gesture easy to see against the broad light area of skin.
3.Laure holds the bouquet
Laure looks toward the reclining woman. Her pale sleeve and the wrapping around the flowers form a second large light area on the right.
4.Flowers are grouped in colored touches
Small touches of color create a busy surface within the white paper. The bouquet contrasts with the smoother, broader areas of the figure's body.
5.The cat stands at the foot of the bed
The cat almost merges with the dark background. Its eyes and upright tail make the animal visible beside the pale bedding.
6.Folds and fringe fill the lower edge
Gray strokes mark the folds of the sheets. The patterned cloth adds smaller colored shapes across the same broad horizontal space.
Timeline
1863
Manet painted Olympia in 1863.
1865
Olympia was exhibited at the official Salon in Paris in 1865.
1890
In 1890, Claude Monet led a public subscription that secured Olympia for the French state.
1986
In 1986, Olympia was assigned to the Musée d'Orsay.
Where to see it
Musée d'Orsay, Paris
Check the collection’s website for current display and visiting information before planning a visit.
View the collection recordFrequently asked questions
When was Olympia painted?
Manet painted Olympia in 1863 and exhibited it at the official Salon in 1865.
Why was Olympia considered scandalous?
Olympia's contemporary sexual subject and direct presentation challenged expectations for the idealized nude. Critics also objected to Manet's painting style.
Who modeled for Olympia?
Victorine Meurent posed for the reclining figure.
What is the animal at the foot of the bed?
A black cat, standing with its tail raised.
Where is Olympia now?
Olympia belongs to the Musée d'Orsay in Paris as accession RF 644. Consult the museum for current display information.
In the atlas
More by Édouard Manet
If you like Édouard Manet
Explore painters from the same movements and circles.
Gustave Caillebotte
Painter of Haussmann's geometry and the group's organizer-financier; his bequest of Impressionist paintings forced the French state to take the movement in.
View artist
Mary Cassatt
The only American to exhibit with the French Impressionists, invited in by Edgar Degas in 1877 after the Salon jury turned her down. She showed in four of the group's eight exhibitions and lived in France for the last fifty-two years of her life.
View artist
Paul Cézanne
Painter between Impressionism and everything after — shown in the independents' exhibitions, emulated by the Cubists, and present at the Orangerie through 15 works in the Walter-Guillaume collection.
View artist
References
References
The sources below include collection records, catalogues, scholarly research, and primary materials that informed this page. They document Olympia, its making, and its place in cultural history.
1Olympia: public-domain reproduction
WebsiteWikimedia CommonsUsed forThe reproduction is the primary visual source for the close-reading details; rights metadata is preserved separately.
2Olympia
WebsiteMusée d'OrsayUsed forWeb source consulted for documented facts and historical context presented on the Olympia page.
3Édouard Manet (1832–1883) — The Metropolitan Museum of Art
WebsiteThe Metropolitan Museum of ArtUsed forWeb source consulted for documented facts and historical context presented on the Olympia page.
View source4Victorine Meurent: artist directory
WebsiteMusée d'OrsayUsed forWeb source consulted for documented facts and historical context presented on the Olympia page.
5Representing the Female Body
WebsiteThe Metropolitan Museum of ArtUsed forIdentification and historical context for Laure, the model for Olympia's attendant.
i
Why these sources are here
These references provide the documented foundation for this work's history and interpretation. Claim-level citations remain attached to the specific claims they support.
Explore more resources