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The Modern La Grande Odalisque

The Work: A photograph taken in early 2003 and used as a cover for American Photograph magazine, Thompson's inspiration was his subject's "flawless" skin, which the nude pose of La Grande Odalisque showcases perfectly. Taken with a Pentax camera and a single flash bulb, the photograph isn't a perfect reproduction of the original scene, but all the motifs are present: a blue curtain, silk sheets, a peacock feather fan and the reclining pose, head half turned towards us. It is, perhaps, a tribute to Jean-Auguste Ingres that the skin of both women seem equally realistic.

Julianne Moore: Well-traveled as a child, Julianne Moore worked as theatre actress after graduating in 1983, before moving into television and then films. Her roles have grown gradually larger over the last decade, and she has been nominated for four Oscars: in 1998 for Boogie Nights, 2000 for The End of the Affair, and twice in 2003 for The Hours and Far from Heaven.

Michael Thompson: Ten years after graduating, Michael Thompson has become one of America's leading 'fashion photographers' and his work regularly appears on magazines such as Vogue; he has a reputation for sense and restraint.

The Work: Commissioned by Caroline Murat, the Queen of Naples and sister of Napoleon Bonaparte, La Grande Odalisque was intended to accompany another Ingres' nude which she owned: Sleeping Woman, Nude. An Odalisque was a female, usually a slave, from a Turkish harem and Ingres painted several works on the subject, although La Grande... is by far his most famous; it now hangs in the Louvre. Several reports on the Moore/Thompson photograph have stated that Caroline was the model for the Odalisque but, while she may have been an inspiration, it's unlikely to have been her (see 'The Debate' below for one reason why).

The Historical La Grande Odalisque

Jean-Auguste Ingres: A leading painter of the nineteenth century, Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres (1780 - 1867) was born in Montauban (France), moved to Paris and then to Rome, where his stunning work won numerous awards and multiple commissions, five of which came from the Caroline Murat. Ingres worked on many sizes of paintings, while his main three topics were portraits, historical works and orientially themed pictures, including a fair few studies of harem women. In later life he received the Legion of Honour, became a French senator, and took on numerous students. One of Ingres best known works, and certainly the most reproduced, was Napoleon on his Imperial Throne (1806).

Caroline Murat: Born to a relatively poor Corsican family, Caroline Murat (1782 - 1839) rose to become Grand Duchess of Berg and the Queen of Naples thanks almost entirely to her older brother, Napoleon Bonaparte. Relentlessly ambitious, socially hungry and ruthless, she and her husband - one of Napoleon's Marshals, Joachim Murat - worked constantly to build their own power, even betraying Bonaparte, but the bickering pair eventually self-destructed, losing their thrones in 1815. Caroline commissioned five works from Jean-Auguste Ingres while she was in power, including a portrait of herself.

The Outcome: Although Caroline Murat ordered La Grande Odalisque, she never received it: her kingdom had collapsed and the work was instead sent to France and the Salon, where it received mixed responses.

The Debate

When the present updates the past comparisons will be made, and this is no exception. Commentators have focused on the amount of flesh revealed - Julianne Moore protects her modesty with a lowered arm and sheet, while the original Odalisque does not - the gazes given by each - the Hollywood actress is surprisingly vacant while the Odalisque conveys a range of emotions - and even the peacock feathers. Indeed, Britain's Daily Telegraph concluded that the original is far sexier.

Oddly, very few modern reports have noted the criticisms Ingres' received from his contemporaries, specifically, that his Odalisque has three extra vertebrae, elongating her back. If you study the painting closely, you can see that the original model's form is distorted for artistic effect, with a back more serpentine than realistic. In contrast, Julianne Moore has been photographed as she truly is, with no computer assisted remodelling (or at least, not of her overall proportions.)