Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres, Grande Odalisque, 1814
Commissioned by Napoleon’s sister, Queen Caroline Murat of Naples, Grande Odalisque represented the artist’s break with the Neo-classical style he’d been identified with for much of his career. The work could be described as Mannerist, though it’s generally thought of as a transition to Romanticism, a movement that abjured Neo-classicalism’s precision, formality and equipoise in favor of eliciting emotional reactions from the viewer. This depiction of a concubine languidly posed on a couch is notable for her strange proportions. Anatomically incorrect, this enigmatic, uncanny figure was greeted with jeers by critics at the time, though it eventually became one of Ingres most enduring works.
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