Date of Award
Spring 5-3-2024
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
Art & Art History
First Advisor
Joachim Pissarro
Second Advisor
Cynthia Hahn
Academic Program Adviser
Maria Antonella Pelizzari
Abstract
The black cat in Édouard Manet’s seminal painting, Olympia, has often been relegated as a crude joke or symbol of reprehensible sexuality. This thesis argues that the cat plays a larger role in Manet’s representation of modernism, and functioned as a defense mechanism by the artist against his critics.
Recommended Citation
Schiffman, Rebecca, "Édouard Manet’s Defense of Modernity: Recontextualizing the Cat in Olympia" (2024). CUNY Academic Works.
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/hc_sas_etds/1148
Included in
French and Francophone Literature Commons, Modern Art and Architecture Commons, Painting Commons, Printmaking Commons