 |
This Odalisque
clearly illustrates
Ingres' devices. |
The oriental
accessories,
immaculately
painted, |
only furnish an
excuse for the title; |
actually the theme is
the ever-recurrent
one of |
Venus or the
female nude |
which Ingres,
rivaling the masters
of the past, |
was to carry to new
heights of abstract
perfection. |
 |
He was not
interested in anatomy
and was only |
concerned with
line and purity of
arabesque. |
He has changed the
shape of the female
body, |
 |
softened and
distilled it, |
re-creating it in an
idealized form. |
In this way, Ingres,
the avowed
classicist, |
 |
is a precursor of
modern abstraction, |
the forerunner of
Modligliani and
certain aspects of Picasso. |
 |