Olympia, Manet

When talking with Sonia last class, she encourged me to check out the picture of Olympia by Manet. At the time it challenged what was normal in pictures. Especially what woman should look like. At the time he was hated for this portrait. The woman as you can see above is facing the straight on, naked. This is not typical of a woman. She is ususally not taking up as much space and looks softer than this painting. She is ignoring the flower bouquet the maid has for her. She is just staring at us naked in the bed, not an angellic type either. It really challenged the portrayal of woman at the time, and although it would be accepted now, we rarely still see that in paintings or photographs.