Ingres' Unconventional Masterpiece: La Grande Odalisque
Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres' 1814 paintingLa Grande Odalisquewas met with harsh criticism upon its debut at the 1819 Paris Salon. The provocative subject matter - a nude Western woman in exotic Oriental attire, seen from behind - already pushed boundaries. However, it was Ingres' unorthodox approach to anatomy that truly scandalized his contemporaries.
Anatomical Distortions and Exaggerated Forms
Ingres elongated the figure's spine and limbs, creating an undulating, serpentine form. The model's hips are voluptuous, while her arms appear disproportionately slender. Critics accused Ingres of disregarding anatomical realism, with one famously counting "three too many vertebrae".Charles-Paul Landon, curator at the Louvre, dismissed the painting as a "defective" nude.
Baudelaire's Appreciation
In 1846, the influential critic Charles Baudelaire offered a more nuanced perspective. He described the painting in sensual terms, noting the "muscles, folds of flesh, shadows of dimples, monstrous undulations of skin". Baudelaire recognized that Ingres' unconventional approach to anatomy served a higher aesthetic purpose.
Enduring Legacy
Today,La Grande Odalisque is celebrated as a masterpiece of French Neoclassicism.
Ingres' elongated forms and exotic subject matter foreshadowed the Romantic movement.
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