Fringe benefits: Manet's Olympia and her shawl

• Autores: Thérèse Dolan
• Localización: Art bulletin, ISSN 0004-3079, Vol. 97, Nº 4, 2015, págs. 409-429
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • In his depiction of a shawl in "Olympia", Édouard Manet portrayed a fashion accesory that transacted a token of exchange whose significance had been animated by a lively and politically nuanced discourse involving class, gender, and economics. It was a commodity whose mute surface had been invested with desire and demand; its implication as a gift was mediated by a logic of consumption that sent a message about socially regulated mobility and class distinction. Olympia's shawl announces to the viewer its commodity value, signifying her elevated price as an article of merchandise to be purchased.