Manet's Olympia / Mel Ramos

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Record Details

Accession Number
1991/2.102.1
Title
Manet's Olympia
Artist
Mel Ramos
Artist Nationality
American
Artist Life Dates
born 1935
Medium and Support
collotype on wove paper
Object Creation Date
1974
Object Creation Place
North and Central America (continent)
United States (nation)
Creation Place 2
United States (nation)
Style/Group/Movement
Pop Art
Inscription
Signed and dated in pencil, l.r.: Mel Ramos 74 Inscribed in pencil, l.l.: 90/200
Dimensions
50.9 cm x 67.4 cm (20 1/16 in. x 26 9/16 in.)
Century
20th century
Primary Object Classification
Print
Physical Description
A female nude reclining on a bed wearing one yellow slipper on her left foot, a gold bracelet on her right arm and a black ribbon tied in a bow around her neck. An African American woman in a blue dress stands behind her holding a bouquet of yellow and white flowers. A small monkey sits at the foot of the bed. All subjects look directly at the viewer.
Subject Matter
This work borrows its subject matter, title and composition directly from Manet’s Olympia painted in 1863, which depicts a nude mistress, or more likely a prostitute, reclining on a bed; behind her is an African American woman, presumably a maid, presenting her with a bouquet of flowers, while a black cat sits at the foot of the bed.
In this work, Mel Ramos blurs the line between the fine art tradition of the aestheticized female nude and contemporary pornography, suggested by his hyper-realist treatment of the nude, revealing her tan lines, her blonde bob, and her quasi-seductive gaze, similar to what one might find in any number of pin-ups girls. Ramos updates not only the reclining nude, but also the older black servant, who becomes a young woman with a stylish afro. He further exoticizes the scene by replacing Manet’s black cat, a common 19th century symbol for prostitute, with a small monkey that, along with the two women, makes direct eye contact with the viewer.
Secondary Keywords
aesthetic concepts
animals and creatures
artistic concepts
associated concepts
buildings and the land
child
concepts in the arts
family
forms of expression
herbaceous plants
historical, theoretical and critical concepts
how we live
international post-1945 styles and movements
landscapes (environments)
mammals
modern american styles and periods
modern and contemporary art
modern north american styles and movements
natural landscapes
objects we use
people
people (agents)
people and culture
people and occupations
people by activity
people by gender
people by occupation
people in service occupations
philosophical concepts
plants
post-1945 fine arts styles and movements
psychological concepts
relationships
settlements and landscapes
social science concepts
styles and periods
styles and periods by region
the americas
vegetation and vegetation components
vegetation components
visual works
visual works by subject type
woody plants
Rights
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Technical Details

Image Size
1235 x 913
File Size
101 KB
Record
1991/2.102.1
Link to this Item
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1991-sl-2.102.1/1991_2.102.1.jpg

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"Manet's Olympia; Mel Ramos." In the digital collection University of Michigan Museum of Art. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1991-sl-2.102.1/1991_2.102.1.jpg. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed March 28, 2024.
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