Olympia

A black ribbon worn close around the neck was, in 1860s Paris, recognised slang for a courtesan or prostitute. Manet's bourgeois audience read it instantly. The 1865 Salon scandal was not about the nude; it was about the contemporary nude wearing the ribbon and staring back at the viewer. The bouquet behind her is from a male customer; the maid is delivering it. The black cat at her feet is hissing. Now at Musée d'Orsay, Paris @museeorsay