Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Olympia, The Seductress


Olympia, The Seductress
9 x 12 inches 
Oil on wood panel.
SOLD

Édouard Manet is considered by many to be the father of Impressionism.  In 1863, he painted, Olympia, a nude that was seen by many as scandalous.  What shocked people was not the nudity itself, there had been many other nudes before Manet's, but it was the fact that she seemed so comfortable in her nudity and the intense look directly at the viewer.  That is what I am trying to do with this painting.  Show a lovely woman in a pose that clearly says she is at ease with herself, and willing to look the viewer in the eye.  This work was inspired by a photo of model, Luba Korovina, taken by Russian photographer, Oleg Kosyrev, (http://www.photosight.ru/users/2063/) who graciously allowed me to use it for reference. 



If you click on the photos to enlarge them, also click on the link, 
Show Originals to see the largest size.
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Olympia, by Édouard Manet





2 comments:

Brad Miedema said...

Very nice Bill! I love the dark background and how the figure is so prominent.

Bill Brauker said...

Thanks, Brad. I wanted her to look striking, and the dark background really helps with that.