The Blonde Odalisque
The Blonde Odalisque, or Resting Girl (French: Jeune fille allongée, Jeune fille couchée or L'Odalisque blonde), are two oil-on-canvas paintings by the French painter François Boucher. The paintings feature a naked woman on her stomach on a couch. The first was made in 1751, whilst the second was made in 1752, although both were made by Boucher. The nude figure is thought to be Marie-Louise O'Murphy, one of the many mistresses of King Louis XV of France, who was only 14-15 years old when the painting was made. The paintings fall into the odalisque genre, also known as exotic Romanticism.
Analysis Boucher's The Blonde Odalisque, or Resting Girl, is filled with soft pastel colors such as pinks, yellows, and blues. The profusion of flowery tones boldly embodies the Rococo era. The nude girl and suggestive symbols throughout the painting help convey an eroticism. The different shades of yellow throughout the piece create a serene tone that accentuates the girl's pinkish nude body. The viewer's eye is directed to the girl by the drapes that hang down the side of the room. The open book that seems to be abandoned, the lone rose left on the floor, and even her expression can be interpreted a few different ways. She could either be surprised or anxious. Maybe someone is entering the room that she wasn't expecting, or she could be waiting anxiously for someone to arrive.
Background Intimacy and delicacy are common themes found in Boucher's work. Venus Consoling Love and The Triumph of Venus are two of Boucher's other works that convey these themes. Both pieces show how Boucher's work progressed and helped pave the way to creating The Blonde Odalisque'. His painting style is soft and delicate, yet bold brush strokes are representative of common Rococo themes such as delicacy and beauty.
Boucher and Marie-Louise O'Murphy met through their affiliation with the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture in Paris, which is also known as The Academy of Painting. Boucher was the principal painter at the academy when he met Marie and chose her to be his chief model. Boucher claimed to have relied on Marie's looks for inspiration for his future paintings. Marie quickly succeeded as a model at The Academy of Painting and was eventually recognized by King Louis XV and became his youngest mistress.