The picture was painted in 1814 for Napoleon’s sister Karolina Murat. Ingres was inspired by famous works of the Renaissance period, incl. Venus Girogione and Venus of Urbino by Titian, as well as from the portrait of Madame Récamier on the highway by Jacques-Louis David. Already at the first public presentation, Titan met with a negative opinions due to the artist’s disregard for anatomical realism. Critics have pointed out that the lady depicted on painting has two or three too many vertebrae (modern scientific research has proven that there are even five too many of these vertebrae) and that her spine curvature along with pelvic rotation is impossible to recreate in reality. The visual effect of excessive length of the Odalist’s torso is moving her head away from the pelvis. This impression is intensified by the fact that her left arm is shorter than the right one. In such an unusual depiction of the figure of a woman from the harem, combined with the indifferent expression of her face, the painter wanted to express the contrast between the body (a reference to the duties performed at the Sultan’s court) and the psyche (her thoughts and feelings related to the performance of the above-mentioned activities).