Short essay: continuity and change

Continuity and change: Olympia

Units 3 and 4
5 points
About 15 minutes

You describe a required work (image provided) and explain how it continues, and how it changes, an earlier artistic tradition, style or practice. You often also explain how the work could be interpreted. On the exam: Section II, question 6 of 6: a short essay on a work from the image set (image provided), with a suggested 15 minutes.

The question and its sources

Short essay: continuity and change. Suggested time: 15 minutes. On the exam you would see a color image of the work; here it is described in words. Answer each part in complete sentences. The work described is Olympia, painted by Édouard Manet in 1863 CE, oil on canvas.

The work, described in words

A large horizontal painting, about 130 × 190 cm (about 4 feet 3 inches × 6 feet 3 inches).

A nude young woman reclines across a bed covered with white sheets and propped-up pillows, leaning back on her right arm. A cream-colored shawl with fringe and embroidered flowers lies under her.

She looks straight out at the viewer with a calm, direct expression. Her left hand rests firmly on her upper thigh, covering her lap.

She wears a thin black ribbon tied around her neck, a bracelet, a large pink flower in her hair and a single slipper; the other slipper has fallen from her foot.

Behind the bed stands a Black woman servant in a pale dress and headscarf, holding out a large bouquet of flowers wrapped in paper.

At the foot of the bed, a black cat arches its back, its tail raised, and stares out at the viewer.

The background is dark, with a heavy curtain and a dark wall.

Light falls flatly from the front, so the woman's pale body has very little shading and stands out sharply against the white sheets and the dark background, with dark outlines in places. The paint in the bouquet and the fabrics is applied in quick, visible strokes.

Source: Description written for this practice question. On the exam you would see a color image of the work instead.

Suggested time: 15 minutes

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Part (a)

1 point

Describe the subject matter of the work.

Your answer to part (a)

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Part (b)

1 point

Describe one material or technique used to create the work.

Your answer to part (b)

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Part (c)

1 point

Using specific visual or contextual evidence, explain how the work demonstrates continuity with earlier traditions of the reclining female nude in European painting.

Your answer to part (c)

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Part (d)

1 point

Using specific visual or contextual evidence, explain how the work demonstrates change from earlier traditions of the reclining female nude in European painting.

Your answer to part (d)

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Part (e)

1 point

Using specific visual or contextual evidence, explain one way the work has been interpreted by critics or art historians.

Your answer to part (e)

0 / 2,500 characters

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