The nineteenth century, and especially mid-century, represents one of the most turbulent periods in French social and political life. Consequently, this was also the case in the artistic field. A few artists who were active in this period and who did not want to devote themselves to conventional and academic painting norms sought new ways of expression. Their work aspired to more intimate, realistic and instantaneous depictions such as were unimaginable in comparison to academic canvases exhibited at the annual Salon. Painters finally freed themselves from the shackles of mythological, biblical, or allegorical depictions and began to introduce real, everyday characters into their depictions. New ways of depicting have not bypassed the female nude, which has been one of the fundamental motifs of painting since the Renaissance. Until the mid-nineteenth century, the naked female body on canvas belonged exclusively to goddesses, nymphs, and other imaginary characters. Accordingly, it was always portrayed in such an idealized way, that at no point would it shock the average observer regardless of the prevailing view of women and the female body in the society of that period. The generation of painters who worked in the mid and mid-nineteenth century brought a new notion of the naked female body to the canvas. Now for the first time in the history of Western painting, it belonged to a real woman and was perfect in its imperfection. However, not in the eyes of the audience at the time. The reception of the modern nude by both the general public and the art critics was too negative: Manet's Olympia, as a member of the marginalized stratum of society and a prostitute, had nothing to do on the canvas; Courbet’s Bather is so voluminous and realistic that it created a sense of unease; Ingres with his Turkish bath opened a window into the „exotic“ world of the Orient and brought the scene so intimate that Princess Clotilde returned this work to the painter deeming it inappropriate.