Henri Gervex's 1878 painting Rolla was deemed immoral, as it depicted a scene from a poem by Alfred de Musset about a man who goes to bed with a very pricey prostitute, " . . .Marion was expensive. To pay for one night he had spent everything . . .. Rolla peered with a melancholy eye over the rooftops, he saw the sun coming up. He moved to the edge of the window. Rolla glanced back to Marie, she was tired and had fallen asleep again..." Whilst sprawled out and pillaged, Marion lays out on the bed panting, eyes closed, out of breath, satiated.....
Painted in 1883 by French artist Alexandre Cabanel, the Birth of Venus was immediately purchased by Napolean III. The original painting is now hanging in the Musée d'Orsay in Paris; a small version is on display in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City