This is the second etched version of the "Olympia" motif that Manet undertook. He reduced the heigh of the original composition and employed the bed to frame the lower edge of the image. Manet's elimination of surrounding space and simplication of values from the first version underscores his increasing interest in the experimental possibilities of the etching medium. This state does not include Manet's signature, a fact that has been interpreted by Harris to suggest that it may have in fact been Bracquemond who completed the plate work. Wilson-Bareau (New York, 1983, p. 189) has interpreted the lack of signature differently, pointing to the print's intended appearance in a publication devoted entirely to the work of Manet.