World Museum Guide
#37

Most Searched Artwork #37 Worldwide

Olympia

Édouard Manet · 1863 · Musée d'Orsay

Quick Answer

Olympia is an oil painting by French artist Édouard Manet, created in 1863 and exhibited at the Paris Salon of 1865, where it caused enormous scandal. It depicts a nude woman reclining on a bed, attended by a Black maidservant who holds a bouquet of flowers. The woman — modelled by Victorine Meurent — stares directly at the viewer. The painting is at the Musée d'Orsay in Paris and is considered the painting that began Modernism — the moment a nude woman stopped being a goddess and became a real person.

Olympia by Édouard Manet — reclining nude woman attended by a Black maidservant with flowers

Public domain — Édouard Manet, 1863. Musée d'Orsay, Paris / Google Art Project / Wikimedia Commons.

At a Glance

Artist
Édouard Manet (1832–1883)
Created
1863
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
130.5 × 190 cm (51.4 × 74.8 in)
Location
Level 5, Musée d'Orsay

Find it at

Musée d'Orsay

Paris, France

"The nude who looked back — and caused the most controversial exhibition in Paris Salon history"

History & Story

Manet based Olympia on Titian's Venus of Urbino (1538), deliberately invoking the reclining nude tradition while stripping away all its mythological justification. Where Titian's Venus is soft-lit, ideally proportioned, and passive, Manet's model is harshly lit, frankly contemporary, and confrontational. The exhibition at the 1865 Salon provoked outrage — the press described it as pornographic, and the crowd had to be kept back from the painting by guards.

The scandal was partly about the model's direct gaze — reclining nudes were acceptable if they represented Venus or a mythological figure; an identifiably real woman meeting the viewer's eye transformed the erotic transaction. The painting was accepted by the French state and entered the Louvre in 1907; it transferred to the Musée d'Orsay in 1986.

Why It Matters

Olympia is the founding work of modern art — the moment painting acknowledged its own artifice and the real social conditions of its production. By painting a contemporary Parisian woman rather than a goddess, by flattening the perspective and eliminating idealised anatomy, Manet forced the viewer to acknowledge what they were actually looking at. This refusal to deceive — to offer a comfortable mythological fiction — is the beginning of the modernist project.

Key Facts & Figures

The scandal: Guards were required to prevent the crowd from damaging the painting at the 1865 Salon — one of the most hostile receptions in art history
The model: Victorine Meurent, a model and painter who appeared in several major Manet works including Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe
The cat: A black cat at the foot of the bed replaces the faithful dog of Titian's Venus — a symbol of independence and sexual freedom
Based on Titian: Directly references the Venus of Urbino (1538) by Titian — displayed in the same Uffizi room as The Birth of Venus
Entered the Louvre: In 1907 — Monet organised a public subscription to purchase it and donate it to the French state

Common Questions About Olympia

Frequently searched questions with detailed answers.

More Famous Artworks

Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci — the world's most famous painting

#1 Most Searched

Mona Lisa

Leonardo da Vinci · c. 1503–1519

The Louvre
The Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh — swirling blue nocturne with luminous stars over a village

#2 Most Searched

The Starry Night

Vincent van Gogh · 1889

Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)
The Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli — Venus emerging from the sea on a giant shell

#3 Most Searched

The Birth of Venus

Sandro Botticelli · c. 1484–1486

Uffizi Gallery
Guernica by Pablo Picasso — monumental anti-war painting in black, white and grey

#4 Most Searched

Guernica

Pablo Picasso · 1937

Museo Reina Sofía
The Scream by Edvard Munch — anguished figure against a swirling red-orange sky

#5 Most Searched

The Scream

Edvard Munch · 1893

National Museum of Norway
Girl with a Pearl Earring by Johannes Vermeer — young woman in a blue turban glancing over her shoulder

#6 Most Searched

Girl with a Pearl Earring

Johannes Vermeer · c. 1665

Mauritshuis
The Creation of Adam by Michelangelo — God reaches toward Adam, fingers almost touching

#7 Most Searched

The Creation of Adam

Michelangelo · 1508–1512

Sistine Chapel, Vatican
The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci — Christ and the twelve apostles at the table

#8 Most Searched

The Last Supper

Leonardo da Vinci · 1495–1498

Santa Maria delle Grazie
The Persistence of Memory by Salvador Dalí — melting watches draped over a surreal landscape

#9 Most Searched

The Persistence of Memory

Salvador Dalí · 1931

Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)
The Night Watch by Rembrandt — Amsterdam militia company emerging from darkness

#10 Most Searched

The Night Watch

Rembrandt van Rijn · 1642

Rijksmuseum
Las Meninas by Velázquez — the Infanta Margarita surrounded by ladies-in-waiting in the Royal Palace

#11 Most Searched

Las Meninas

Diego Velázquez · 1656

Museo del Prado
The Kiss by Gustav Klimt — couple embracing in golden robes on a floral meadow

#12 Most Searched

The Kiss

Gustav Klimt · 1907–1908

Belvedere Palace Museum
The Great Wave off Kanagawa by Hokusai — a towering cresting wave with Mount Fuji in the background

#13 Most Searched

The Great Wave off Kanagawa

Katsushika Hokusai · c. 1831

Metropolitan Museum of Art
American Gothic by Grant Wood — stern farmer and woman before a Gothic-windowed house

#14 Most Searched

American Gothic

Grant Wood · 1930

Art Institute of Chicago
Nighthawks by Edward Hopper — three people at a late-night diner, seen from the street

#15 Most Searched

Nighthawks

Edward Hopper · 1942

Art Institute of Chicago
Water Lilies by Claude Monet — impressionistic pond surface with lily pads and reflections

#16 Most Searched

Water Lilies

Claude Monet · 1896–1926

Musée de l'Orangerie
A Sunday on La Grande Jatte by Georges Seurat — Parisians relaxing on an island in the Seine, painted in pointillist dots

#17 Most Searched

A Sunday on La Grande Jatte

Georges Seurat · 1884–1886

Art Institute of Chicago
Liberty Leading the People by Delacroix — allegorical woman with tricolour flag leading an armed revolt

#18 Most Searched

Liberty Leading the People

Eugène Delacroix · 1830

The Louvre
The Hay Wain by John Constable — horse-drawn cart in the River Stour, Suffolk, under dramatic cloudy skies

#19 Most Searched

The Hay Wain

John Constable · 1821

National Gallery
The Fighting Temeraire by J.M.W. Turner — a ghostly sailing warship being towed by a dark steam tug at sunset

#20 Most Searched

The Fighting Temeraire

J.M.W. Turner · 1839

National Gallery
David by Michelangelo — monumental marble nude of the biblical hero, Florence

#21 Most Searched

David

Michelangelo · 1501–1504

Galleria dell'Accademia
Venus de Milo — ancient Greek marble sculpture of Aphrodite, armless, in the Louvre

#22 Most Searched

Venus de Milo

Unknown (attributed Alexandros of Antioch) · c. 130–100 BC

The Louvre
The Thinker by Auguste Rodin — bronze male figure seated in deep contemplation

#23 Most Searched

The Thinker

Auguste Rodin · 1902 (large version)

Musée Rodin
Impression Sunrise by Claude Monet — orange sun reflected in a misty blue harbour with rowing boats

#24 Most Searched

Impression, Sunrise

Claude Monet · 1872

Musée Marmottan Monet
Sunflowers by Vincent van Gogh — vase of vivid yellow sunflowers against a pale background

#25 Most Searched

Sunflowers

Vincent van Gogh · 1888

National Gallery
The School of Athens by Raphael — classical philosophers in a grand Roman hall, Plato and Aristotle at centre

#26 Most Searched

The School of Athens

Raphael · 1509–1511

Apostolic Palace, Vatican
Whistler's Mother by James McNeill Whistler — elderly woman seated in profile in a spare grey interior

#27 Most Searched

Whistler's Mother

James McNeill Whistler · 1871

Musée d'Orsay
Les Demoiselles d'Avignon by Picasso — five angular female figures from a Barcelona brothel

#28 Most Searched

Les Demoiselles d'Avignon

Pablo Picasso · 1907

Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)
Napoleon Crossing the Alps by Jacques-Louis David — Napoleon on a rearing horse gesturing forward across the Alps

#29 Most Searched

Napoleon Crossing the Alps

Jacques-Louis David · 1801–1805

Château de Malmaison
Luncheon of the Boating Party by Renoir — friends dining on a sun-drenched terrace by the Seine

#30 Most Searched

Luncheon of the Boating Party

Pierre-Auguste Renoir · 1880–1881

The Phillips Collection
The Garden of Earthly Delights by Hieronymus Bosch — triptych depicting Eden, earthly pleasures, and Hell

#31 Most Searched

The Garden of Earthly Delights

Hieronymus Bosch · c. 1490–1510

Museo del Prado
The Third of May 1808 by Goya — a man in a white shirt faces a French firing squad, arms outstretched

#32 Most Searched

The Third of May 1808

Francisco de Goya · 1814

Museo del Prado
Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog by Caspar David Friedrich — a man in a coat stands on a rocky peak above clouds

#33 Most Searched

Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog

Caspar David Friedrich · c. 1818

Hamburger Kunsthalle
The Ambassadors by Hans Holbein the Younger — two men with objects of science and art, and a distorted skull in the foreground

#34 Most Searched

The Ambassadors

Hans Holbein the Younger · 1533

National Gallery
A Bar at the Folies-Bergère by Édouard Manet — barmaid facing the viewer with a crowd reflected in the mirror behind

#35 Most Searched

A Bar at the Folies-Bergère

Édouard Manet · 1882

Courtauld Gallery
Bal du Moulin de la Galette by Renoir — a sun-dappled outdoor dance and gathering in Montmartre, Paris

#36 Most Searched

Bal du Moulin de la Galette

Pierre-Auguste Renoir · 1876

Musée d'Orsay
Primavera by Sandro Botticelli — allegorical scene of mythological figures in a spring garden

#38 Most Searched

Primavera

Sandro Botticelli · c. 1477–1482

Uffizi Gallery
The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp by Rembrandt — surgeons observing a public dissection

#39 Most Searched

The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp

Rembrandt van Rijn · 1632

Mauritshuis
Starry Night Over the Rhône by Van Gogh — gas-lit Arles reflected in the Rhône river under a star-filled sky

#40 Most Searched

Starry Night Over the Rhône

Vincent van Gogh · 1888

Musée d'Orsay
Café Terrace at Night by Van Gogh — a glowing outdoor café terrace at night on a cobbled street in Arles

#41 Most Searched

Café Terrace at Night

Vincent van Gogh · 1888

Kröller-Müller Museum
Irises by Vincent van Gogh — vivid blue irises against an orange background

#42 Most Searched

Irises

Vincent van Gogh · 1889

Getty Museum
Venus of Urbino by Titian — reclining nude woman on a luxurious bed, gazing at the viewer

#43 Most Searched

Venus of Urbino

Titian · 1534

Uffizi Gallery
The Bedroom by Vincent van Gogh — a sparse, vividly coloured room with a bed, chairs, and personal effects

#44 Most Searched

The Bedroom

Vincent van Gogh · 1888

Van Gogh Museum
Saturn Devouring His Son by Goya — a wild-eyed giant eating a small human figure

#45 Most Searched

Saturn Devouring His Son

Francisco de Goya · 1819–1823

Museo del Prado
The Two Fridas by Frida Kahlo — two self-portraits seated side by side, their hearts exposed and connected

#46 Most Searched

The Two Fridas

Frida Kahlo · 1939

Museo de Arte Moderno
Haystacks by Claude Monet — golden haystacks in a field at sunset, rendered in warm orange and red light

#47 Most Searched

Haystacks

Claude Monet · 1890–1891

Art Institute of Chicago
Woman with a Parasol by Claude Monet — a woman with a parasol and a child on a breezy summer hill

#48 Most Searched

Woman with a Parasol

Claude Monet · 1875

National Gallery of Art
At the Moulin Rouge by Toulouse-Lautrec — patrons at the famous Paris cabaret, with Lautrec himself visible among the crowd

#49 Most Searched

At the Moulin Rouge

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec · 1892–1895

Art Institute of Chicago
Le Déjeuner sur l'Herbe by Édouard Manet — a nude woman picnics with two clothed men in a woodland setting

#50 Most Searched

Le Déjeuner sur l'Herbe

Édouard Manet · 1863

Musée d'Orsay
← Back to Famous Artworks