Comparing The Olympia And A Little Taste Of Outside Love

The history of art involves different movements during the different periods in art. Two of those movements include Ninetieth Century and Twentieth Century Art, both of these periods began with a stylistic movement with one contributing much of the character to the latter.

This essay will describe and then compare/contrast the “Olympia” and “A Little Taste of outside Love” by Edouard Manet and Mickalene Thomas respectively. In the “Olympia” by Edouard Manet which is an oil painting, produce on canvas and was done in 1863-65. In the painting “Olympia” depicts a nude white woman in a reclining position lying on a bed in the foreground and is being tended to by a black maid. To the far right of the painting is a black cat gazing mysteriously out at the viewer. The maid is presenting the white woman with flowers which could be gift base on the manner she is presenting the flowers. The nude woman is also intentionally adorned with a black ribbon around her neck, a single fashionable slipper on one of her foot, while the other one has fallen off carelessly, flowers in her hair and bracelet of the sort on her hand. The white women can also being seen with her hand neatly and modestly styled. In the background of the painting there is complete darkness, this shows the obvious contrast between the dark of the background and the light of the nude woman lying on the bed. This draws much attention to the subject of the painting. The paleness of her skin is almost like it has become one with the bed. The colours and style of the painting are even more realistic. The artist uses quick and rough brush strokes to give the effect of the forms.

In the painting “A Little Taste of outside Love” created by Mickalene Thomas is a mixed media artwork t...

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...d by men. Consequently women became an object and a spectacle. Whereas, during the 1970s of Thomas’s time women were painting women and women had a voice which they use to empower the black race rather than being submissive.

One of the major themes of the two paintings are nude versus naked. According to John Berger “to be naked is to be ones self and to be nude is to be seen by others and yet not recognized for oneself” (goodreads, 2014). The woman in Manet’s painting represents the idea they were a sight to behold. However in Thomas’s painting evoke another feeling of naked and being oneself and the black woman movement.

These two paintings the “Olympia” by Edouard Manet and “A Little Taste of outside Love” by Mickalene Thomas are two well-known and exquisite painting that were created in two different eras that evoke different reactions according to their time.