Ingres, La Grande Odalisque

Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, La Grande Odalisque, 1814, oil on canvas, 91 x 162 cm (Louvre)
speakers: Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker

[@lorettacassidy6078]

I was (and still am) awed by this painting when I saw it in person at the Louvre!❤

[@Miskatonic-University]

Wonderful video, very interesting insights into an amazing painting! 👏

[@alfredoechevarrieta7512]

Muchas gracias Smarthistory.

[@romuald5198]

Ingres painted another unrealistic female body in Jupiter and Thetis, it's truly a stunning masterpiece

[@Sasha0927]

I certainly didn't expect "Odalisque" to have that meaning (despite the thumbnail), but I also wasn't expecting to have an updated definition of the term "harem." I thought it meant what most people think it does, to say the least. 😅 As lovely as she is, I'm sorry to say that the awkwardness of her figure immediately gave me pause. I didn't skip that long back and I really couldn't forgive that left leg! I try to get some flex training in at the end of every workout and I'm reminded of the ways I've contorted myself to get a deep stretch in my lower back, glutes, thighs, and hamstrings. It's certainly not a posture I'd hold in repose. Couldn't she have been an ideal beauty in an actually relaxed position or is that too accessible to be ideal? I do love the smoothness of her skin and the satin quality of the drapes near her. Her fan object is beautifully detailed too.. I've never seen one quite like it and wonder how good it is at cooling someone. It seems to prioritize form over function. I'd love to see more of these lovely, mildly confusing details up close.

[@smarthistory-art-history]

You can find most of our photos on Flickr, here is this set: www.flickr.com/search/?user_id=82032880%40N00&sort=date-taken-desc&text=Ingres%2C%20La%20Grande%20Odalisque&view_all=1

[@Sasha0927]

Thank you. ❤ I know you have amazing photos there and intend to spend much more time with them - and your website - when my videos dry up, lol. @@smarthistory-art-history

[@c7261]

It always disappoints me a bit with viewer's reactions to fantastical proportions. It's like "The proportions are off, therefore it is tainted and we can laugh at it". Plenty of awesome artists didn't adhere to accurate proportions and some aren't held to this critical gaze. Maybe it's something to do with the believability in the tight rendering vs the figure?

[@AMorgan57]

Reminds me faintly of Raphael's La Fornarina.

[@raf015_2]

Because of the turban right? It's not a coincidence. Ingres saw Margherita's portrait with his own eyes and was struck by it, he even painted Raffaello and his muse together as he was painting her.

[@yanelkysbernard2699]

That left leg is impossible

[@monkeygraborange]

I’ve always wondered if this was meant to portray a real, specific woman.

[@rekavass]

Juliette Recamier was a famous Parisian socialite back then, Jacques-Louis David and François Gérard and some other artists have made portraits of her, laying/sitting in sort of a similar way. So, this pose of a reclining figure looking back over her shoulder was adopted by Ingres for the Grande Odalisque. I don't think Ingres himself wanted to specifically portray Recamier, but he was certainly inspired by the prior depictions of her.

[@taiwanjohnson6340]

GR.🌏💚💖💙🌅👑