Bather Valpinson by JEAN AUGUST DOMINIC ENGRE
The first name of this painting by Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres, the leader of European academicism of the 19th century, is due to the name of its owner-collector. The work strikes with exquisite simplicity, clarity of plastic language and quivering line. Modeling of forms is akin to sculpture: superbly modeled draperies are perceived almost three-dimensionally, and the figure of a woman itself seems to be a wonderful statue that has come to life. The bather is unaware of the presence of the observer, does not pose or show off, due to which the viewer has an awkward feeling that he is spying on a woman.