Lola de Valence by Manet

Monday with Edouard Manet!

Lola Melea, known as "Lola from Valencia," was the principal dancer for the Mariano Camprubi dance troupe s from the Theater Royal in Madrid. When Manet saw her dance in Paris in 1862 he was taken by her sensual appeal and attractively good looks. She served as the model for a woman dancer dressed in traditional Spanish costume.

Musée d'Orsay, Paris, France, 1862

Young woman reclining in a Spanish costume by Manet

Mondays with Edouard Manet!

This is may or may not be Victorine Meurent -- but the cat played a similar role and place in "Olympia".

Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, CT, USA, 1863