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This essay is comparing paintings of reclining female nudes thru the history of art. - Ingres' "La Grande Odalisque" and Manet's "Olympia" a Comparison The reclining female nude has been a recurring image in the history of European art. Each artist through time approaches the subject in a different, individualized way. An earlier example of the reclining nude is Giorgione's "Sleeping Venus," created around 1510(see fig. 1). His nude is painted using the clair obscur method …

…reflects a totally new era of change. His art helped the Victorian society to realize that the roller coaster ride into the twentieth century was to be one of exciting, liberal thought. Even today, the reclining nude is being recreated in a very fascinating way(see fig. 5). By a simple comparison of these four works, it is easy to trace the history of art from its classical stage, to the modern art it is today.