|
"Olympia"
Edouard Manet
| When
"Olympia"
was presented at the Salon of 1865, out of all the paintings on the walls
(and this is believed to have numbered in the thousands), it was
"Olympia" that caused a
major uproar. Such a realistic portrayal of
prostitution so outraged Parisians that "Olympia" had to be
moved near the Salon's high ceiling for its own protection. The uproar at
the Salon was a frontal assault on the established methods of painting and
the Salon was "the field of battle", according to Manet. The
critics fought back and so did the public -- Manet was intensely hated,
scoffed at, ridiculed and made the butt of countless jokes. Critics universally
denounced the painting's unashamed immorality. But in the decades to follow, both
"Luncheon on the Grass" and "Olympia" were recognized
as groundbreaking masterpieces. And both found a home in the world's most
renowned art museum, the Louvre. |
|
|