Hannah Jurgens

Pd. 7

Compare/Contrast: Olympia and The Coiffure

Nude female figures have been the subject of artwork for centuries now. Often

times, women depicted as naked had idealized bodies and emphasized breasts (due

partially to most of them being created by male artists). Back then, there were certain

standards that were set up by works of art such as "Venus of Urbino". It wasn't until

around the late 19th century when things started to shift and artists tried a much more

contemporary approach to the female nude... making it much more controversial. Both

of the works "Olympia" (by Edouard Manet) and "The Coiffure" (by Mary Cassatt)

oppose the norm of classical paintings before them, but it different ways. They both

depict nude women as their subjects and purposefully disregard the standards set up by

the classic artists, not only in how they depict their subjects but how they go for a less

realistic approach.

"The Coiffure" is a paper drawing that features a woman getting ready for her

day, pinning up her hair while the top half of her is undressed. As opposed to nudes

beforehand, Manet wanted to show a much more natural side to women without

drawing much attention to what should and shouldn't be idealized. While it lacks

full-value, it's still arguably more realistic in how the woman's proportions are than many

other female nude drawings. The perspective is done so that the viewer is forced to be

drawn more to the composition of the piece than the fact that the woman in the work is
naked. With "Olympia", a woman can be seen lounging nude while a maid walks in on

her. It was widely regarded as disrespectful to classical works of art in the way it lacked

value and substance. It was also considered controversial due to speculation that the

woman staring coldly at the viewer was a prostitute and the flowers that the black

woman was holding were from one of her clients.