Nude masterpieces go face to face
Source: AFP |
April 25, 2013, Thursday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
TWO naked seductresses separated by three centuries of history went face to face for the first time in Venice yesterday in an exhibition devoted to French painter Edouard Manet with his "Olympia" alongside Titian's "Venus of Urbino".
Manet completed his painting of a prostitute being waited on by a black maid in 1863 - a controversial masterpiece which caused a stir at the time but was largely inspired by old master Titian's own ground-breaking work from 1538.
"Olympia" usually hangs in the Musee d'Orsay in Paris and the painting has never left France. It was driven to Italy for the show and then ferried across the Venice lagoon to St Mark's Square on a barge to be exhibited in the Ducal Palace.
The works were "scandalous" in their times, said Guy Cogeval, head of the Musee d'Orsay. And they still have the capacity to shock.
During a trip to Florence in 1857, Manet painted a reproduction of Titian's "Venus of Urbino" - which still hangs today in the Uffizi Gallery.
Cogeval said he had been "overcome" by Titian's work. "It is one of the most beautiful paintings in the world," he said.
Manet completed his painting of a prostitute being waited on by a black maid in 1863 - a controversial masterpiece which caused a stir at the time but was largely inspired by old master Titian's own ground-breaking work from 1538.
"Olympia" usually hangs in the Musee d'Orsay in Paris and the painting has never left France. It was driven to Italy for the show and then ferried across the Venice lagoon to St Mark's Square on a barge to be exhibited in the Ducal Palace.
The works were "scandalous" in their times, said Guy Cogeval, head of the Musee d'Orsay. And they still have the capacity to shock.
During a trip to Florence in 1857, Manet painted a reproduction of Titian's "Venus of Urbino" - which still hangs today in the Uffizi Gallery.
Cogeval said he had been "overcome" by Titian's work. "It is one of the most beautiful paintings in the world," he said.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
