Visual: Ingres’ “La Grande Odalisque” shows a woman, who is assumed to be of Eastern descent and a concubine for one of the sultans of the East. She is surrounded by exotic furnishing such as rich blue curtains, and a feather fan, and is shown reclining on a bed of blankets and pillows. She is completely naked, and lies with her back to us, and is looking over her right shoulder towards the artist. Her left leg is crossed over her right, and she is propped up on a pillow by her left arm. Overall, her body is extremely unrealistic looking, as her legs seem terribly twisted, and her back seems way too long to be humanly possible.

Context: According to WGA and Sofmoo, La Grande Odalisque was painted in 1814 for Napoleon’s sister, Queen Caroline Murat. The eroticism of the work lies not in the fact that she is nude, but in reality, in her odd gazing look towards the viewer. Various studies have been done on the odd body type, and it has been determined that Ingres most likely intended for her to be as distorted as she actually is. While there are only theories, the most prominent one is that Ingres was trying to put as much distance between her pelvis, and her face. The idea was that there was a big gap between her emotions (resigned) and her condition (enlarged pelvis, status as a concubine).

Subjective: I have mixed feelings about “La Grande Odalisque”. On one hand, I appreciate the painting, I appreciate the skill that went into it, as well as the apparent message, but on the other hand, I’m not blown away. I personally am not charmed by the erotic aspect of the work, and don’t find it visually stunning, but like I said, I don’t love it. I’m really at a loss for what to write about this work, because I guess my feelings can be summarized as apathetic. I don’t feel strongly one way or another, and as such, I have a hard time writing about it.