Comparing The Grand Odalisque And The Whistlers Mother

Throughout history, art has been an ever changing form of expression. From paintings to architecture art has been a representation of politics, religion, world view, and social structure. From classical art to cubism and every genre in between art has gone through transformations and has evolved into some of the most controversial, priceless, and famous pieces of work on display around the world to this day. In the two paintings that I am comparing The Grand Odalisque by Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres and The Whistlers Mother by James Abbot McNeill you will not only see how art transformed within a matter of sixty years but also how culture and society is reflected in each work of art. In addition you will also see how women’s roles were reflected
Painters of this era used sharp and strong colors and made the human figures in their paintings appear to be almost sculptural in nature. Artist also used a style that contrasted light and dark colors to achieve the illusion of depth known as chiaroscuro. You see these neoclassical techniques in Ingres’ The Grand Odalisque. In his use of color he contrasts the warm tones of her skin against the colored sheets that she is lying on which brings attention to her long body (Artble, 2014). At second glance it is almost as if she had a spotlight directly on her especially in the area of her legs, feet, and arms. Ingres also used tight brushwork to achieve his near photographic realism which captured the likeness and the texture of the not only her skin, but the silk and the velvet sheets that she is lying on (Artble,
The painting was originally titled Arrangement in Grey and Black: The Artist's Mother which is an indication of the color palette that he chooses (primarily black and grey). McNeill paints his mother sitting in an all-black dress with white lace trim on the collar and wrist, with a white bonnet. He only uses the color white again but only in a picture frame; everything else from the curtains, paint on the walls, and the flooring are either painted in black or grey. McNeill kept the painting very simple and natural and portrayed the ordinary average person who happened to be his