Grand Odalisque by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres - Essay Example

According to our textbook, the painting is significant because it expresses the character of the epoch. Notwithstanding that it is not a figure from any specific historical or mythological text, it maintains monumentality and idealization typical of history painting. Ingre’s preoccupation with total relationships and formal counterpoints led him to push his idealization of the female body to the limits of naturalism, offering abstractions of the model from which he worked.

I really like this painting because her nudity is beautiful. When I saw this painting for the first time, I was shocked a bit, because even though she shows only her back, she is attractive and erotic. In addition, her facial expression is mysterious and cold, so it makes me wonder what she was thinking about when she was painted. In the picture, she is alive as the painter managed to depict her skillfully. It seems that she is going to move the next second. This makes the painting a really great masterpiece. Read More