The pose for the model of this painting was inspired by Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres’s “La Grande Baigneuse.” It was never my intention to paint in the master’s style but is only an homage and recognition of his talent and influence.

Ingres might be my favorite painter. There might be painters of equal talent, ability, and mastership of craft (such as Vermeer); but none are his superior. And his influence on Degas and then Picasso, Braque and the cubists cannot be underestimated.

Ingres would break the boundaries and constraints of human anatomy and proportion to suit his own esthetic needs. Ingres might have been the arch enemy of many more modern artists who immediately followed in his footsteps; but his daring in composition paved the way for their more modern approaches to function and form.