33
Édouard Manet
Olympia (G. 39, H. 53)
Estimate
$2,000–3,000
Priority BiddingAvailable through 20 October 2pm ET 2026. Learn more
1865/1902
Etching and aquatint, on wove paper, with margins.
I. 3 3/8 x 7 in. (8.6 x 17.8 cm)
S. 7 1/4 x 10 in. (18.4 x 25.4 cm)
S. 7 1/4 x 10 in. (18.4 x 25.4 cm)
The sixth (final) state, an impression from the book Histoire d'Édouard Manet et de son œuvre by Theodore Duret, Paris, 1902, framed.
Full-Cataloguing
Édouard Manet’s etching Olympia, based on the controversial painting of the same name, translates the provocative composition exhibited at the Paris Salon of 1865 into fluid etched line. The plate is documented in six states by art historian Marcel Guérin with only minor revisions by the artist, including darkening of Olympia’s left hand and areas of the background. This impression of the sixth and final state was printed in 1902 for writer and critic Théodore Duret's Histoire d'Édouard Manet et de son œuvre, one of the earliest monographs on the artist's work. Earlier impressions of the print were published in author Émile Zola's 1867 booklet defending Manet's revolutionary work, Édouard Manet, Étude biographique et critique. Through both Zola and Duret's publications, though 35 years apart, Manet was able to disseminate his famed image more widely, allowing readers to encounter and engage with the print as an original work rather than a reproductive illustration.