How are 'Venus of Urbino' and 'Olympia' alike and different?

Olympia is both a modernist parody and an homage to Titian's Venus of Urbino. In addition, the sexuality of the model is active through her confrontational gaze, rather than passive and demure. read more

Manet first displayed Olympia in 1865, at a Salon in Paris. At its introduction, it was met with much criticism and distain. In fact, it had to be moved up on the display to be showcased out of reach to “prevent it from being vandalized” (Adut 243). Unlike Venus, Olympia was not adverting her eyes from the viewers. read more

Like Olympia, Venus of Urbino has some hidden meanings to it as well. Venus being the goddess of love comes into play with this painting of course. Just like Victorine, Venus is staring directly at the viewer making her hard to simply overlook. Once again we see the contrast between darks and lights, which makes Venus stand out even more. read more