La demoiselle

One of the few 19th century women artists to achieve recognition for her painting, Eva Gonzalès first received critical attention at the Paris Salon of 1870. She was a student of Edouard Manet and for many years served as his 'muse'. In her debut at the Salon in 1870 her paintings were hung next to Manet's Portrait d'Eva Gonzalès (Wildenstein no. 154; coll. National Gallery, London), which portrayed her painting a still-life of flowers. La demoiselle is typical of her early paintings, which focused on intimate scenes of women in domestic interiors.