Female nudes have been a popular subject in art for a long time. Two time periods with contrasting ideals for reclining nude figures are the Renaissance and the Modernist time period. One focuses on painting the female figure as an object, and the other challenges that conception.

Shown here is Giorgione's The Sleeping Venus. These kinds of paintings became very common at the time, depicting mainly goddesses in their idealized beautiful forms.  For example, Venus’ body is shown to have curves in all the right places with soft skin and most importantly, a downward gaze. There is no interaction between her and the audience, and therefore she becomes an object the viewer can deem beautiful without guilt. These women weren’t depicted to be erotic, but to be admired as perfectly sculpted objects.

On the other hand, Manet's Olympia shown here is in almost the exact same position, however, her body is yellow with syphilis and her eyes stare directly at the viewer. The presence of the female character automatically becomes more apparent and the audience is unnerved. The fact that she is not a deity or any other important woman, and that she is a prostitute upsets them further. At the time, in the early 20^th century, French art critics in the Salon were accustomed to flowing, peachy, curvy bodies and an overall luscious effect. Manet took something they loved and were familiar with and twisted it completely around.

The Salon was disgusted Manet's painting, deeming it inappropriate because the woman was no longer just an object, but a conscious subject. Though compositionally, nearly identical to countless acclaimed paintings from the past masters, the modernist take was extremely controversial.

Post by Yuning Yang

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