ding idea in this picture. And the frankness of the artist's expression of this notion is surprising. There is no detailed pretense that it is anything other than a catalogue of the physical attributes of a particular female physical type that is shown, with small variations, in as many angles and poses as the painter can devise within the limits of a certain degree of discretion. There are slight touches of the exotic in a few (very few) fabrics, the vase in the niche, the instrument in a woman's hands. But, ultimately, these women possess only one major trait--availability. They are simply shown as having nothing to do--nothing except await the pleasure of the man for whom they spend their time grooming themselves. It is a fantasy of ownership that extends in time and number the usual presentation of a nude two and, as such, has almost a greedy feel to it.
Even though the Easternizing touches in the picture are few, however, they are noteworthy in that Ingres uses them as an excuse--and he does this in several ways. For one thing, there is a slight pretense that this painting represents something that is inherently interesting because it is exotic. Such sights are not
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