Mademoiselle Lucie Delabigne (1859–1910), Called Valtesse de la Bigne

This pastel depicts Lucie Delabigne, a fashionable Parisian courtesan who was also the subject of portraits by Jean-Louis Forain, Édouard Detaille, and other artists. Manet may have met her through the writer Émile Zola, who based many passages in his book Nana on observations made at Lucie’s home. The novel was published in 1880, just a year after this work was made. (Source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art)