Manet depicts a nude woman positioned in a similar pose to Titian’s “Venus of Urbino” (1538) – however, instead of painting a goddess, he shows a high class prostitute, making it a mockery. The model, Victorine Meurent, was working at the time the painting was first exhibited, which may have led to a few blushes since a few of the men had likely met her before.
The painting depicts a nude white woman lying on a bed with a black cat at her feet. The background displays a black female servant bringing her flowers. This image struck the viewers as an insult to the academic art tradition when it was first displayed.
The narrative suggests that the women's frontal