![Henri de TOULOUSE-LAUTREC | Bed [Le lit]](Images/400/218773.jpg)
Henri de TOULOUSE-LAUTREC
France 1864 – 1901
41.6 (h) x 32.1 (w) cm
Reference: Dortu P.669 Collection of Ann and Gordon Getty
Edouard Manet’s famous painting of a prostitute, Olympia, was exhibited at the Louvre to wide acclaim in 1889. Staring confidently out at the viewer, Olympiashamelessly presents her body. Manet’s elevation of the prostitute to a position of sexual idol is far from Lautrec’s interpretation. In contrast, this prostitute is painted as a vulnerable woman, her half-naked figure turned away and her gaze averted. Lautrec has grounded this working woman firmly in contemporary reality, showing her as she really was.
Edouard Manet’s famous painting of a prostitute, Olympia, was exhibited at the Louvre to wide acclaim in 1889. Staring confidently out at the viewer, Olympiashamelessly presents her body. Manet’s elevation of the prostitute to a position of sexual idol is far from Lautrec’s interpretation. In contrast, this prostitute is painted as a vulnerable woman, her half-naked figure turned away and her gaze averted. Lautrec has grounded this working woman firmly in contemporary reality, showing her as she really was.
Edouard Manet’s famous painting of a prostitute, Olympia, was exhibited at the Louvre to wide acclaim in 1889. Staring confidently out at the viewer, Olympiashamelessly presents her body. Manet’s elevation of the prostitute to a position of sexual idol is far from Lautrec’s interpretation. In contrast, this prostitute is painted as a vulnerable woman, her half-naked figure turned away and her gaze averted. Lautrec has grounded this working woman firmly in contemporary reality, showing her as she really was.
