Mademoiselle V. . . in the Costume of an Espada  1862

Manet depicted model Victorine Meurent (1844–1928) in the guise of a male espada, or matador, borrowing her pose from a Renaissance print. Victorine’s shoes are unsuitable for bullfighting, and the pink cape that she flourishes is the wrong hue, but she carries off her role with panache. The backdrop reproduces a scene from Goya’s Tauromaquia series, celebrating the feats ...