Olympia had more to do with the realism of the subject matter than the fact that the model was nude. Why were visitors to the Paris gallery, already quite familiar with art featuring the naked body, so outraged by the painting that the gallery was forced to hire two policemen to protect the canvas? The objections to Olympia is a painting of a reclining nude woman, attended by a maid and a black cat, gazing mysteriously at the By marrying his younger brother, she bound herself to Manet with family ties and achieved the impossible: she acquired the Manet name for herself and for her child."Shocking" was the word used to describe Edouard Manet's masterpiece when it was first unveiled in Paris in 1865.Īlthough the nude body has been visual art's most enduring and universal subject, it has often spurred conflict.
When she married Eugène, Morisot described her choice as a practical one a compromise after living for years with fanciful “chimeras”. Morisot’s daughter, Julie Manet, confirms in her diary: “On that day Uncle Édouard told Maman she ought to marry Papa.” Was this Manet’s attempt to secure a reputable future for Morisot? Two years later, Manet’s brother Eugène revealed his feelings for Morisot. At one of Madame Morisot’s regular dinners in her Passy home, as her daughter posed for Berthe Morisot with a Bouquet of Violets, Manet addressed this issue. By 1872, she was over 30 years old and had rebuffed at least two suitors, one being the muralist Pierre Puvis de Chavannes. Morisot mutinied against her mother’s matchmaking, asserting herself as an independent, self-supporting artist.
Portrait de Berthe Morisot peignant, Edma Morisot, 1865 As the most revealing of her letters are gone, we will never know the path the relationship would trace, but George Moore confirmed in his memoirs Hail and Farewell “that Berthe would have married Manet if Manet had not been married already”. If it was love, Manet vicariously courted Morisot through his paintbrush, resisting real sexual tension.
However, essayist Otto Friedrich seemed to think that The Repose was a paean of love from Manet to his model. Her slouch, her exposed foot, and her open button were criticised as unattractive and unfeminine. Dubbed “Seasickness” by critics, caricaturists lampooned her casual pose. Portrayed lounging on a plump sofa, with one foot dangling, the painting was denounced as a “horror”. She stepped into Victorine Meurent’s shoes as the most scorned woman at the show. Morisot next modelled for Manet’s The Repose, which was exhibited in the 1873 Salon. To my great surprise and satisfaction, I received the highest praise it seems that what I do is decidedly better than Eva Gonzalès.” Morisot wrote to Edma in August 1870: “Manet lectures me and holds up that eternal Mademoiselle Gonzalès as an example she has poise, perseverance, she is able to carry an undertaking to its successful issue, whereas I am not capable of doing anything.” But by September: “Manet came to see us. Gonzalès would become Morisot’s rival for Manet’s attentions. Yet Manet did paint his only paying student, Eva Gonzalès, with her brushes. Never depicting her at the bestowed easel, he portrayed her instead as a femme fatale or a grande bourgeoise. And he did little to boost her confidence.
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