From the artist's life
In La Grande Odalisque Ingres gave his nude several extra vertebrae — an anatomical error made for the sake of a more beautiful, sinuous line.
Source: Wikipedia / WikimediaNeoclassicism
Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres
Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres (1780–1867) was the great defender of Neoclassical line against Romantic colour. A supreme draughtsman, his sinuous nudes and portraits are masterpieces of cool, sensual precision.
Ingres championed pure line and form, and his stylised distortions of the body quietly anticipated modernism.
- The great champion of Neoclassical line over colour.
- A supreme draughtsman of nudes and portraits.
- Distorted anatomy for beauty, anticipating modern form.
Key works
Where to start
Complete list of key works
Works with a dedicated ArtAtlas page are highlighted in gold.
- La Grande OdalisqueOn ArtAtlas
- The SourceListed for reference
- The Turkish BathListed for reference
- Vénus AnadyomèneListed for reference
- Portrait of Monsieur BertinListed for reference
- Oedipus and the SphinxListed for reference
- Mademoiselle Caroline RivièreListed for reference
- Jupiter and ThetisListed for reference
- Antiochus and StratoniceListed for reference
- Venus and LoveListed for reference
1814
La Grande Odalisque
Anatomists calculated the odalisque seems to have several extra vertebrae — the back is lengthened for the line.