In La Nymphe surprise, how is the History discussed?
The model of the painting is Édouard Manet's lover, the Dutchwoman Suzanne Leenhoff, with whom he had a secret affair. This affair developed while the young Manet was still living in his parents' house, where Suzanne–who was three years Manet's senior– was engaged as his brothers' piano teacher in 1849.  Their relationship was kept secret from his family. Manet and Suzanne married in 1863, two years after the completion of this painting in 1861. The relationship lasted throughout their lives.Nymphs were female spirits of nature, female deities from Greek mythology, often depicted as young women, who dwell in mountains and small woods, by springs and rivers. Several authors think that the motif is similar to Rembrandt's Susanna and the Elders, considering that the model's name is Suzanne, she was Dutch and the figure's pose is identical with the one in the painting. In a different point, Françoise Cachin argues that Manet was probably inspired by Jean-Baptiste Santerre's 1704 painting of the same subject, pointing out the position of the arm and the treatment of the material.Manet kept this painting in his atelier. The painting was exhibited at the Salon des Artistes Français in 1865. This painting was painted two years before the Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe (The Luncheon on the Grass) and Olympia. The painting was purchased by the National Museum of Fine Arts in Buenos Aires and was placed on display at the Museum, as one of the institution's highlights.
springs Françoise Cachin Olympia Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe Dutch Greek mythology Rembrandt Jean-Baptiste Santerre National Museum of Fine Arts in Buenos Aires Suzanne Leenhoff Nymph Susanna and the Elders Buenos Aires Édouard Manet Salon des Artistes Français