''The Valpinçon Bather'' (Fr: ''La Grande Baigneuse'') is an 1808 painting by the French
Neoclassical artist
Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres
Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres ( , ; 29 August 1780 – 14 January 1867) was a French Neoclassical painter. Ingres was profoundly influenced by past artistic traditions and aspired to become the guardian of academic orthodoxy against the ...
(1780–1867), held in the
Louvre
The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...
since 1879. Painted while the artist was studying at the
French Academy
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with France ...
in Rome, it was originally titled ''Seated Woman'' but later became known after one of its nineteenth-century owners.
Context
Ingres had earlier painted female nudes, such as his ''Bathing Woman'' of 1807, yet this work is widely regarded as his first great treatment of the subject. As with the previous smaller work, the model is shown from behind, however ''The Valpinçon Bather'' lacks the earlier painting's overt sexuality, instead depicting a calm and measured sensuality.
[Rosenblum, 66] Ingres returned to the form of this figure a number of times in his life; culminating in his ''
The Turkish Bath
''The Turkish Bath'' (') is an oil painting by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, initially completed between 1852 and 1859, but modified in 1862. The painting depicts a group of nude women at a pool in a harem. It has an erotic style that evokes ...
'' of 1863, where the central figure in the foreground playing a
mandolin echoes in rhythm and tone the model of the Valpinçon bather.
[Mirzoeff, Nicholas. "Bodyscape". Routledge, 1995. 116. ]
Reception
Although the painting was not met with favour by critics when first exhibited, almost fifty years later, when the artist's reputation was well established, the
Goncourt brothers
The Goncourt brothers (, , ) were Edmond de Goncourt (1822–1896) and Jules de Goncourt (1830–1870), both French naturalism writers who, as collaborative sibling authors, were inseparable in life.
Background
Edmond and Jules were born to m ...
wrote that "
Rembrandt himself would have envied the amber color of this pale torso", while the Louvre described it as "a masterpiece of harmonious lines and delicate light".
[The Bather'', known as the Valpinçon Bather]
. Louvre. Retrieved on May 08, 2009.
Charles Baudelaire
Charles Pierre Baudelaire (, ; ; 9 April 1821 – 31 August 1867) was a French poet who also produced notable work as an essayist and art critic. His poems exhibit mastery in the handling of rhyme and rhythm, contain an exoticism inherited ...
(1821–1867) described the model as having a "deep voluptuousness", yet in many ways she is presented as essentially
chaste.
This contradiction is apparent in many elements of the painting. The turn of her neck and the curves of her back and legs are accentuated by the fall of the metallic green draperies, the swell of the white curtain in front of her and the folds of the bed sheets and linen. However, these elements are countered by the cool tone in which her flesh is rendered as well as by elements such as the elegant black-veined marble to the left of her.
Remarking on Ingres' ability to paint the human body in a unique manner, the art critic Robert Rosenblum wrote that "the ultimate effect of
'The Valpinçon Bather''is of a magical suspension of time and movement—even of the laws of gravity ... the figure seems to float weightlessly upon the enamel smoothness of the surface, exerting only the most delicate pressure, and the gravitational expectations of the heaviest earthbound forms are surprisingly controverted."
Notes
Sources
* Rosenblum, Robert. ''Ingres''. London: Harry N. Abrams, 1990.
* Siegfried, Susan & Rifkin, Adrian. ''Fingering Ingres''. Wiley-Blackwell, 2001.
External links
Louvre caption
{{DEFAULTSORT:Valpincon Bather
Paintings by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres
1808 paintings
Paintings in the Louvre by French artists
Nude art