A Modern Olympia

A Modern Olympia is an oil painting by Paul Cézanne dated to around 1873–74, when the artist was living in Auvers-sur-Oise. Its title and subject pay homage to Édouard Manet's Olympia, shown at the Paris Salon of 1865, a work that caused scandal for its frontal nude, the challenging gaze of the woman and the suggestion that she was a prostitute. Cézanne takes that scheme further. In a rich, intensely coloured interior, a naked woman lies on a bed while her Black servant pulls back the covers before a man seated on the right, seen from behind and dressed in black. Unlike Manet, who only hinted at the courtesan's client or protector, Cézanne places him inside the scene. His bald head, thick beard and nose profile have led many to suggest a self-portrait, though that reading remains open. The composition includes decorative touches that recall Fragonard, such as the pedestal vase, the red table and the small black dog with a red collar, and a lifted curtain on the left heightens the theatrical character of the scene. The loose brushwork, bright colours and unmixed patches of paint link the work to Impressionism. The painting also has a well-known story. The doctor and amateur painter Paul Gachet, an admirer of Cézanne, praised Manet's work in conversation; Cézanne replied that he could do something similar, and Gachet challenged him to do so. Gachet bought this version, the first picture Cézanne sold, and is said to have been present while it was painted. Gachet lent it to the First Impressionist Exhibition in 1874, where critics mocked it more than any other painting in the show. Today it is held at the Musée d'Orsay in Paris. Its interest lies in how Cézanne turned a provocative quotation into a meditation on desire, the male gaze and the theatricality of an intimate space, with a boldness some have seen as an anticipation of Expressionism.

Painter

Paul Cézanne

Date

1873

Medium

oil paint, canvas

Dimensions

46 × 55 cm

Museum

Musée d'Orsay, Paris

Genre

genre art, nude

Depicts

nudity, satire, vase, bed, woman, domestic worker

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