Olympia By Edouard Manet

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Olympia

Edouard Manet’s Olympia creates identity because it shows an unknown woman, only identified as a common prostitute’s name in an unusual positioning within the frame and the elements surrounding her. She also seems to not care about who is watching her or the flowers given to her by a potential admirer. Her specific gaze is unfocused and off-camera to emphasize that she is not necessarily an object like other paintings of women at the time. This painting relates to voyeurism and represents the typically male viewer (observer) watching a female (observed) without her being aware or him being seen. This connects to Sander’s essay in which although women throughout history were generally supposed to be looked at with desire and admiration, …show more content…
Prostitutes were naturally the pariah of society because of their scandalous jobs and their apparent “lack of morals” set by society at that time. This painting depicts the woman known as Olympia not only breaking stereotypes of working as a prostitute, but by being surrounded and perched upon by white linens and pillows. White symbolize a sense of purity and chasteness which is a bold statement because she is the exact opposite of pure. Some details in the painting, such as the flower in her hair, her black ribbon necktie, and the black cat also indicate her line of work. These are symbols of wealth and sensuality, which were taboo for women to flaunt publicly. Olympia's left hand appears to block her private area, almost as if it gives her the control in this scene. This also relates to her role as a prostitute in which she is displays her independence and makes the decision to either allow or restrict men to access her body to make money. Olympia ignores the gift of flowers given to her by her black servant from a male client. These characteristics of the framing contribute to her nonchalant attitude toward society’s stigmas against her and even goes as far as mocking its standards and …show more content…
Her black maid brings her a bouquet of flowers, yet her gaze remains focused away from the gift. Olympia’s back is figuratively turned and her head is facing away to emphasize that she does not care about the “adoration” she receives from men. Her brothel work is strictly business and love does not faze her, because she is determined to always be in control. Olympia does not want men or society’s standards to have control over her; she is independent and confident on her own. She boldly puts her body, flaws and all. It is almost as if she is challenging the viewer with her unwavering gaze to speak against or bash her lifestyle- in the end, Olympia does not care. This in itself was a cause for outrage in the 19th century because it was social taboo for prostitutes to be so straightforward and audacious by staring and looking at the viewer in the presence of men. It was scandalous for a woman in general to be so brazen as to stare directly at
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