The image of Grand Odalisque is one of the historical images painted in 1814 by Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres. The image depicts the end of neoclassicism and the beginning of Romanticism era. The nude figure of the woman in the picture has a remarkable poor sense of human anatomy’s proportionality. Taking a close look at the picture, it is evident that the artist exaggerated some of the human features in the painting as opposed to the real features of a woman.
Exaggerations in the Painting
The head of the figure in the painting is relatively small compared to the mass of the body. The hands of the maiden are not of similar size and built. In the picture, the left hand of the image is quite shorter as compared to the right hand. This is noted by the length of the upper arm of the left hand vis a vis the stretched right hand. The maiden has a longer spine than the normal size. The hip joint is raised a little bit higher, and she seems to have a high waistline, far much above her hip joint.
Effect of the Impossibilities
The small head in the image reduces the sense of expression of feelings by the painted person. The small head hides the mood of the image. The same feelings of uncertainty flow through the elongated backbone. It obviously shows a person that has feelings stretched to the edge. It may imply that the lady in the painting is being strained to handle something that she may not like or under a certain harsh atmosphere, a hidden coercion. The feelings imputed from image are sad and are of a high sense of oppression.
