Olympia disdainfully ignores the flowers presented to her by her servant, probably a gift from a client. The aroused posture of the cat was provocative in French, chatte (cat) is slang for female genitalia. Manet replaced the little dog (symbol of fidelity) in Titian's painting with a black cat, a creature associated with nocturnal promiscuity. Whereas the left hand of Titian's Venus is curled and appears to entice, Olympia's left hand appears to block, which has been interpreted as symbolic of her role as a prostitute, granting or restricting access to her body in return for payment. The painting is modelled after Titian's Venus of Urbino (c. "Olympia" was a name associated with prostitutes in 1860s Paris. The black ribbon around her neck, in stark contrast with her pale flesh, and her cast-off slipper underline the voluptuous atmosphere. These include the orchid in her hair, her bracelet, pearl earrings and the oriental shawl on which she lies, symbols of wealth and sensuality. What shocked contemporary audiences was not Olympia's nudity, nor the presence of her fully clothed maid, but her confrontational gaze and a number of details identifying her as a demi-mondaine or prostitute.
The title of the painting is generally credited to Manet's close friend, the art critic and artist Zacharie Astruc, since an excerpt from an Astruc poem was included in the catalogue entry with the piece when it was exhibited at the 1865 Salon. The painting is on display at the Musée d'Orsay, Paris. The French government acquired the painting in 1890 after a public subscription organized by Claude Monet. Olympia's confrontational gaze caused shock and astonishment when the painting was first exhibited because a number of details in the picture identified her as a prostitute. Olympia was modelled by Victorine Meurent and Olympia's servant by the art model Laure. Olympia is a painting by Édouard Manet, first exhibited at the 1865 Paris Salon, which shows a nude woman ("Olympia") lying on a bed being brought flowers by a servant.
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