April 30, 1883

Édouard Manet (January 23,  1832 to April 30,  1883) the great French painter, demonstrates vividly in his work the fact modernism consisted not just of new artistic composition and techniques, but new attitudes from the subjects of the art. The Luncheon on the Grass (Le déjeuner sur l'herbe) and Olympia are critical events in modern history as much for the attitude of those represented as the manner by which they were drawn. 

This point is not so apparent in one painting of Manet's: Woman with a Cat. You can scroll down at the link to see a copy, but here is a thumbnail:




Woman with a Cat is dated by the Musee d'Orsay to 1862-63. The medium is "Brush and Indian ink"; the dimensions "H. 20; L. 27 cm"
We quote the museum's blurb:

It is tempting to see in this drawing an initial idea for Olympia (Musée d'Orsay), but it is very different from known sketches of Victorine Meurent, who modelled for the painting. It is more likely to be a simple sketch, a doodle to while away the time. The very spirited use of the wash brings to mind contemporary sketches of female figures by Constantin Guys.

And yet in both the drawing and the canvas which made such a scandal in the Salon of 1865, we find the same sharp contrast between the dark hanging in the background and the white body reclining on the sheet. In the painting, the cat is further to the right and has been replaced in the centre of a composition by a black servant holding a bunch of flowers.

The model's nonchalance recalls Nude Maja (Madrid, Prado) by Goya, an artist that Manet much admired, and Delacroix's Odalisque (private collection). The Woman with a Cat casts a knowing glance at the spectator while Olympia's eyes seem to be challenging those who gaze at her.

I would like to be more specific: the gaze is lacking in La Femme au Chat, that indifferent superiority of the subjects we referenced first.