French Neo-Classical Painter

Born 29 August 1780 - Montauban, Tarn-et-Garonne, France

Died 14 January 1867 - Paris, France
Father was an artist and provided encouragement and teaching in drawing.
Conventional schooling stopped in 1791 after only 5 years due to the French Revolution and
lack of schooling would be a source of insecurity.
Began studies at the Acadmie Royale de Peinture, Sculpture et Architecture in Toulouse.
where he became influenced by classicism and the works of Raphael .
In 1797, he travelled to Paris to study with Jacques-Louis David for 4 years.
Studied painting at the cole des Beaux-Arts from 1799.
Won the Grand Prix de Rome for his Ambassadors of Agamemnon in the tent of Achilles in
1801
Travelled to Rome in 1806 to stay in the Villa Medici when state funding was finally
approved.
Endured a period of little critical acclaim before finding success in 1824 with the Vow of
Louis XIII.
Focused on rigid Classicism and opposed Romantic painters like Delacroix his arch
nemesis.
Viewed himself as a history painter but became famous more for his portraits and scenes of
the exotic Orient.
Label
Created 1862 (at age 82)
108cm x 108cm
Originally rectangular, Indres altered it to circular (tondo form) in 1863
Oil on wood
Muse du Louvre
Subject
Harem scene - (in former times) the separate part of a Muslim household reserved for wives,
concubines, and female servants.
Oriental interior with pool and exotic elements instrument, ornaments, interior
Nude Turkish women relaxing dancing, conversing, stretching, playing music, indulging
Idealised forms, not always anatomically correct.
Figures are of Caucasian descent as Ingres never actually visited the orient and it was mainly
a vehicle for portrayal of female nude in erotic state
Couple with one woman caressing breast of other is main source of eroticism
None of the women were created from live models. Instead, figures from earlier works were
used e.g. The Valpinon Bather (1808)

A critical viewer would analyze the scenario, by interpreting that

slaves are being abused. Much more than that, there are black
women slaves who are being used to entertain and amuse their
mistresses. From Ingress painting (Le Bain Turk), the slaves can

be seen far left in the foreground as well as the right hand side of
the woman standing close to the wall. This is portrays a negative
feeling of cruelty and racism which is typical of Orientals as
earlier own stipulated. The idea of having black women slaves is
highlighted in almost all the above mentioned artworks.
Patron
Patron was originally Prince Napoleon and the picture was delivered in 1859 in rectangular
form.
Returned at the behest of Princess Clotilde who was shocked by the nudity.
Alterations were made until 1863, despite dating of 1862.
Released posthumously at the Salon d'Automne 1905
Inspiration
Napoleons invasion of Egypt 1806 started a trend in Orientalism.
Ingres had an interest in the Orient and the exotic sensuality of the East and started painting
Odalisques in 1807.
He was a fan of Lady Mary Montagus Letters from the Orient from her trip to the Ottoman Empire
in 1716. Part of the zeitgeist, having been re-published eight times in France and Ingres copied a
passage entitled "Description of the women's bath at Adrianople" into his own note book.
I believe there were two hundred women there in all. Beautiful naked women in various poses...
some conversing, others at their work, others drinking coffee or tasting a sorbet, and many stretched
out nonchalantly, whilst their slaves (generally ravishing girls of 17 or 18 years) plaited their hair in
fantastical shapes

Composition
Figures are divided into two sections those in the foreground and those in the background
Comparatives
Turkish nudes
Similar use of idealised female forms, not always anatomically correct
VB is almost exact same form with differently positioned limbs.
GO particularly features inhumanly long back and pelvis. Use of similar positions.
A favorite subject of Ingres was the female nude. He loved to experiment and imaginatively
enhance the female form as he considered it ideal. In The Turkish Bath he takes the liberty of
showing as many idealized figures as the canvas space will allow.
Composition:
Ingres divides the group of harem bathers into two. They exist in a deep but undefined space that
lacks depth. The loungers set in the foreground are drawn in Ingres' particular fancy of anatomical
distortion while the women in the background overlap one another making it difficult to judge
anatomical correctness.
Use of Color:
Under the classical training of David, Ingres was taught to focus more on drawing than on color.
Though he paid meticulous attention to the details of the line, his use of colors is also carefully

planned. His subjects are portrayed in a cold, filtered light, which tones down the relief of the
figures, allowing line to dominate.
Lighting:
The light falls on the bather with her back turned to the viewer drawing attention to her. He
highlights her left shoulder. The women in the foreground are void of such drastic highlights to
their skin while the bathers in the background lounge in the shade. Their skin has a grayish tone.
Tone/Mood/Emotions elicited:
As usual, Ingres conjures up an obvious erotic mood as the women lounge in various positions on
the plush sofas of the bath house. After having just come from the pool, many of the bathers are
quite relaxed. Some woman dance, others chat. They lay on one another, they play with each
other's hair. The most sensual portion of the painting is the rightmost part of the foreground where
one bather gives a few view of her breasts while the others just behind her touch another.
Brushstroke:
Ingres used tight brushwork to achieve his near photographic realism. He captured the likeness of
skin, as well as the textures of the silk and velvet.

In this composition, two main groups of figures are assembled within a deep but undefined space. The
foreground is dominated by the interplay of arabesques at the expense of anatomical precision and any effect of
depth. However, there is great harmony in the composition, with even the frame following the curves of the
painting (Ingres chose a circular or tondo frame, as seen on certain pictures by Raphael, who was his great
hero). He has also portrayed his subject in a cold, filtered light, which tones down the relief of the figures,
allowing line to predominate.