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J R Soc Med 2004;97:342-344
doi:10.1258/jrsm.97.7.342
© 2004 Royal Society of Medicine

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J R Soc Med 2004;97:342-344
© 2004 The Royal Society of Medicine

Extra vertebrae in Ingres' La Grande Odalisque

Jean-Yves Maigne MD  1 Gilles Chatellier MD  2   Hélène Norlöff3

1 Department of Physical Medicine, Hôtel-Dieu Hospital, Place du Parvis Notre-Dame, 75181 Paris Cedex 04
2 Clinical Epidemiology Unit and Medical Informatics Department, Hôspital Européen Georges Pompidou, 20 rue Leblanc, 75908 Paris Cedex 15
3 7 avenue Franklin Roosevelt, 75008, Paris, France

Correspondence to: Dr Jean-Yves Maigne
E-mail: jy.maigne{at}htd.ap-hop-paris.fr

SUMMARY

La Grande Odalisque, a painting by Jean-Auguste Ingres (1780-1867), was throughout the 19th century notorious for its anatomical inaccuracy; in particular, the woman was said to have three lumbar vertebrae too many. This view was accepted by all art critics, but never tested and proven. We measured the length of the back and of the pelvis in human models, expressed the mean values in terms of head height, and transferred them to the painting. The deformation was found to be greater than originally assumed (five, rather than three, extra lumbar vertebrae), and to involve both the back and the pelvis. Ingres' paintings skilfully combine realism and symbolism. We suggest that the deformation may have been introduced for psychological reasons. By placing the harem woman's head further away from her pelvis the artist may have been marking the gulf between her thoughts (expressed by her aloof, resigned look) and her social role (symbolized by her deliberately lengthened pelvis).


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