Lola de Valence
by MANET, Edouard, Oil on canvas, 123 x 92 cm
Manet’s “espagnolisme” reached fever pitch in the 1860s, any subject was good so long as it was Spanish. When a Spanish ballet troupe came to Paris, Manet was quick to paint Lola de Valence, posing her in the same position as Goya’s Duchess of Alba. Her magnificent costume, glittering with a thousand spangles, made an ideal subject for him.