8 Famous Paintings That Depict Prostitutes

The French poet Charles Baudelaire once said: "What is art? Prostitution." For countless painters, prostitutes were models and muses — though some artists were inclined to hide this fact, others displayed it openly. From Toulouse-Lautrec's pastels to Egon Schiele's sketches, we present eight of the most famous paintings depicting prostitutes.

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Edouard Manet, "Olympia"

Manet was not the least bit troubled by Olympia's profession — in the painting it is revealed quite clearly: the orchid in her hair, the black ribbon around her neck, and the black cat by the bed are all symbols of desire. Even her name is linked to prostitutes. First exhibited at the Paris Salon in 1865, the painting caused a scandal. Parisians were not outraged by the nudity, but by Olympia's cold, direct gaze, her impassive face, slender body, and indifference to the bouquet held by her maid. It was the antithesis of Titian's "Venus of Urbino." Still, it must be said that the woman who posed for Olympia was not a prostitute — she was Victorine-Louise Meurent, a painter herself and a favorite model of many other artists.

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Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, "The Toilette"

Toulouse-Lautrec was obsessed with prostitutes. He was a frequent guest at the Moulin Rouge and at various brothels in Montmartre and other Parisian districts. Like Manet, he did not condemn prostitutes, yet he did not paint them as sex symbols either. He showed their everyday life. Toulouse-Lautrec painted an entire series of pastels depicting the relationships between prostitutes. They are full of hints of homosexuality, yet the intimate moments are presented without any trace of fetish. "The Toilette" was painted later; the woman shown in it, Carmen Gaudin, was his favorite model. Carmen was a laundress, but to make ends meet she also sold herself. In the painting she sits nude, wearing only black stockings — a hint at her trade. Like Lautrec's other paintings, this one conveys the intimacy of a woman's daily life as though we were peering through a keyhole.

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Vincent van Gogh, "Sien"

Prostitutes are probably the last thing that comes to mind when thinking of Vincent van Gogh. His masterpieces are self-portraits, sunflowers, and starry skies, yet he also painted prostitutes. In fact, after cutting off his ear, he wrapped it in cloth and brought it to a prostitute. In his youth he drew an entire series of sketches depicting Clasina Maria Hoornik, known as Sien. When they met, Sien was pregnant and destitute. Van Gogh, to his family's horror, brought her home and began to draw her. Sien showed not the slightest shyness under the painter's intent gaze — whether lying nude, nursing her baby, or simply smoking. It is no surprise that Van Gogh's own favorite was the sketch "Sorrow," which remains popular to this day.

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Henri Gervex, "Rolla"

Most of Gervex's early works were based on myths, which served merely as a pretext for painting nudes. "Rolla" was no exception. The Paris Salon was quite fond of this artist, but it rejected "Rolla" as immoral. Still, thanks to the ensuing scandal, when the painting was later exhibited, crowds flocked to see it. The artist was inspired by a poem by Alfred de Musset. The painting shows a young hedonist, Rolla, who has, it is implied, just made love to a teenage prostitute, Marie. As in other 19th-century paintings, her profession is signaled by the discarded corset and rumpled clothing, though the strongest hint at sex is Rolla's cane jutting out of the pile of her clothes.

Pablo Picasso, "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon"

It is said that upon hearing of the public's reaction to Matisse's "The Joy of Life," Picasso's first thought was to outdo his rival, and in 1907 he succeeded. Even before it was shown to the public — which did not happen until 1916 — Picasso's own friends disliked the painting. Matisse was simply appalled and called it "a bad joke." The women are nude, their two-dimensional forms distorted, awkwardly angular. There is not a trace of conventional femininity or beauty here, so looking at them leaves the viewer uneasy. "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon" was inspired by Picasso's fascination with primitive art. The women's faces recall African masks, which were being exhibited in Paris at the time. You can see the painting here.

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Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres, "La Grande Odalisque"

"Odalisque" is a borrowed word — in Turkish it means a chambermaid, while in the West it came to mean a harem concubine. As happened with most of the paintings mentioned above, "La Grande Odalisque" was not received favorably when first exhibited, though not so much because of its subject as because of the concubine's exaggerated and anatomically incorrect proportions. Her limbs and neck are long, her head small, her waist slender, yet her bust is large. It has even been shown that her pose would be impossible for any living woman. The artist deliberately distorted anatomy to emphasize the sensuality of the female form, further accentuated by the soft fabrics and cushions surrounding the Odalisque.

Alberto Giacometti, "Caroline"

Alberto Giacometti's sculptures of men and women, slender as twigs, embody the existentialism of the postwar years. The emaciated figures seem distant, yet still human. Giacometti had many female models. For a long time his favorite model was his wife, Annette. Later, Giacometti met Caroline, whose real name was Yvonne Poiraudeau. She was a Parisian prostitute. The artist became so captivated by her, and by her life, that he even provided for her financially. In his final years he depicted only her, painting her portrait several times. In all three paintings he rendered her in a sketchy, simple manner, yet her detailed face draws the viewer's attention. She gazes at the viewer with large, wide-open eyes, as if answering his unconcealed stare. Everyone loves the story of how Caroline once stubbed out a cigarette on a painting that was still being worked on — the burn mark is still visible today. You can see the painting here.

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Egon Schiele, "Dark-Haired Girls"

Egon Schiele loved women. While Lautrec depicted prostitutes in a quiet, intimate everyday setting, Schiele painted them by capturing the most explicit and erotic of moments. Like Lautrec, Schiele portrayed these women not through a man's eyes, but as they truly were. His women are shown confident in their sexuality, in command of their own desires. The artist never hid or was ashamed of his obsession. He showed his sketches to anyone who wanted to see them, even to young girls, and this repeatedly landed him in trouble. "Dark-Haired Girls" — depicting two teenage prostitutes — also caused a scandal. In most of the sketches devoted to them, Schiele openly depicts both their age and their nudity; both girls are shown without pubic hair, and in the sketch "Dark-Haired Girl Lifting Her Skirt" our attention is drawn to her crotch, highlighted in red. The viewer is forced to confront the girl's blatant nudity. Her pose and facial expression are grotesquely distorted. If these drawings are still considered to balance on the line between art and pornography today, one can only imagine the scandal they caused in the early 20th century.