Man Ray
Le Violon d’Ingres
1923
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Man Ray
Le Violon d’Ingres
1923
Physical Qualities
Gelatin silver print coated with pigmented varnish, Image/Sheet: 179 x 138 mm. (7 1/16 x 5 7/16 in.)
Credit Line
Purchase with exchange funds from the Edward Joseph Gallagher III Memorial Collection; and partial gift of George H. Dalsheimer, Baltimore
Object Number
1988.435
Le Violon d’Ingres is a witty take on the turbaned, exotic nudes by the nineteenth-century French painter Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres (1780–1867) that Man Ray had admired
at the Louvre in Paris. After taking a photograph of Kiki (born Alice Prin, a celebrated artist’s model, cabaret singer, and artist), he likened her shapely form to the curves of a string instrument by drawing f-shaped sound holes at her waist. He then rephotographed
the composition. As the title refers to the French term for “hobby” (Ingres enjoyed playing the violin), Man Ray’s seductive image is also a sly erotic pun.
The Baltimore Museum of Art by gift/purchase, 1988; George Dalsheimer; purchased from Pace-MacGill Gallery, 1986; Magnum Photo; private collection; the artist
Whitney Museum of American Art, "Master American Photographers," 29 January - 8 April, 1987
Los Angeles, Museum of Contemporary Art, "Perpetual Motif: The Art of Man Ray," 19 March - 28 May 1989; Houston, Menil Collection, 30 June - 17 September 1989; Philadelphia Museum of Art, 14 October 1989 - 7 January 1990
Jan Howard, BMA, "A Century of American Photography: A Decade of BMA Acquisitions," 22 October 1997 - 11 January 1998
Jan Howard, BMA, "Surrealist Art from the BMA's Collection," 31 March - 20 June 1999.
Rena Hoisington, BMA, "Looking through the Lens: Photography 1900-1960," 16 March - 8 June 2008.
"Man Ray - Human Equations: A Journey from Mathematics to Shakespeare", The Phillips Collection, February 7-May 10, 2015, ill. fig. 166, p. 179; Co-organized by The Israel Museum, May 2015-January 2016. BMA loans at Phillips only.
Andaleeb Banta and Leslie Cozzi, The Baltimore Museum of Art, "Shapeshifting: Transformations on Paper," May 8 - October 2, 2022.
Los Angeles, Museum of Contemporary Art, "Perpetual Motif: The Art of Man Ray," 19 March - 28 May 1989; Houston, Menil Collection, 30 June - 17 September 1989; Philadelphia Museum of Art, 14 October 1989 - 7 January 1990
Jan Howard, BMA, "A Century of American Photography: A Decade of BMA Acquisitions," 22 October 1997 - 11 January 1998
Jan Howard, BMA, "Surrealist Art from the BMA's Collection," 31 March - 20 June 1999.
Rena Hoisington, BMA, "Looking through the Lens: Photography 1900-1960," 16 March - 8 June 2008.
"Man Ray - Human Equations: A Journey from Mathematics to Shakespeare", The Phillips Collection, February 7-May 10, 2015, ill. fig. 166, p. 179; Co-organized by The Israel Museum, May 2015-January 2016. BMA loans at Phillips only.
Andaleeb Banta and Leslie Cozzi, The Baltimore Museum of Art, "Shapeshifting: Transformations on Paper," May 8 - October 2, 2022.
Wendy Grossman and Edouard Sebline (eds), "Man Ray Human Equations", Germany: Hatje Cantz Verlag, 2015, pp. 178-179, ill.166 and p. 226.
Taylor, Michael R. Man Ray: The Paris Years. (Richmond, VA: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 2021), fig 50 p 141
Inscribed: Recto: in negative, at lower right: "Man / Ray" Verso: None
Markings: None
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