Musée d’Orsay · 1862
Lola de Valence
Édouard Manet
When a Spanish dance troupe performed in Paris in 1862, Manet painted one of its stars, Lola Melea, in her full stage costume — a subject that let him indulge his fascination with Spanish art without ever having visited Spain.
Why it matters
When a Spanish dance troupe performed in Paris in 1862, Manet painted one of its stars, Lola Melea, in her full stage costume — a subject that let him indulge his fascination with Spanish art without ever having visited Spain.
Look closer
Look at the confident, direct pose — Manet's friend, the poet Charles Baudelaire, was so struck by the painting that he wrote a short poem about it, comparing Lola to "an unexpected pink and black jewel."
Baudelaire wanted his poem displayed right on the painting's frame; the museum instead displays it on a nearby label, but the pairing of poem and portrait remains one of the best-known collaborations between an Impressionist-era painter and poet.
Value context
ELYIO places this work in an indicative editorial context of €9–16 million.
The museum work is not for sale. This is ELYIO indicative context—not an appraisal, insurance value or offer.