This painting is a rare example of an exoticized portrait in Morrice’s oeuvre. The sitter, Blanche Baume, was one of the artist’s preferred Parisian models, and she appears in many other portraits. The red and yellow draperies behind the model are studio props that Morrice re-used in other portraits and in still lifes, although none of these come close to Olympia in terms of the sitter’s extravagant costume.
