The writer and art historian, Eunice Lipton, has often been quoted as stating about Manet’s images, “robbed as they are of their mythic scaffolding, are bold indeed”. She further explains that Manet’s “women are seen as strong, autonomous beings, firmly saying no to centuries of conventional behavior” and that they are not “updated versions of Venus, Flora, Mary or Salome. Manet’s women are only people”.

Realism was pioneered by the French artist Gustave Courbetwho wanted to paint what he experienced and saw in the world. He did not follow the academic rules of art. He influenced other artists to follow new conventions, which also set the foundations for the developing Impressionist art movement. Children in the Tuileries Gardens (c. 1861-1862) by Édouard Manet; Édouard Manet, Public domain, via Wikimedia CommonsSharon Flescher, Zacharie Astruc: Critic, Artist and Japoniste (1833–1907) (Garland Publishing: New York, 1978). ISBN 9780824032265

This loose brushwork is a direct reflection of Impressionism and inspired many of the Impressionist artists to follow in Manet’s brushstrokes, so to say. It was a testament to the depiction of modern life and everyday scenes. Manet’s maid was a model named Laure who also modeled for him in his other painting titled “Children in the Tuileries Garden” (1862). When we look beyond the woman who modeled as Olympia, the actual term “Olympia” used as the title of Manet’s painting has a history of its own. “Olympia” was used to refer to prostitutes during the 1800s in France, however, there has been scholarly debate about why Manet chose this term. The article from Sharon Flescher, titled More on a Name: Manet’s “Olympia” and the Defiant Heroine in Mid-Nineteenth-Century France (1985) suggests the term “Olympia” could have a likeness to the idea of a powerful heroic female. In Flescher’s paper, she mentions the opera Herculaneum first shown in Paris in March 1859.Simple direct debit – one rental can include all equipment and additional costs i.e. installation and training 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. [1] Content [ edit ] Manet is remembered as one of the leading artists of Impressionism, however, he was also a part of the Realism art movement and depicted scenes of modern life. An artist has been arrested (again) for a nude stunt in a Paris gallery". Independent.co.uk. 18 January 2016. Archived from the original on 2022-05-23.