Benjamin Constant
Odalisque
1874-1884
Physical Qualities
Oil on canvas, Unframed: 8 3/8 x 11 5/8 in. (21.3 x 29.5 cm.)
Framed: 20 3/4 x 17 3/8 x 2 1/4 in. (52.7 x 44.1 x 5.7 cm.)
Credit Line
The George A. Lucas Collection, purchased with funds from the State of Maryland, Laurence and Stella Bendann Fund, and contributions from individuals, foundations, and corporations throughout the Baltimore community
Object Number
1996.45.63
Benjamin Constant’s Odalisque depicts a young woman wearing a teal-colored silk robe and seated among patterned fabrics and pillows. This scene engages the Western fantasy of accessing—even just visually—the seraglio or harem, a private room reserved for wives and concubines. This European fantasy became a recurrent theme among 19th- and 20th-century French painters, including the modernist Henri Matisse (1869–1954).
Though Constant initially created historical paintings, a visit to Spain in from 1870 to 1871 exposed him to artists who specialized in Moroccan subjects. Following a trip to northern Africa in 1872, he devoted his career to depicting both real and imaginary scenes set in such landscapes, including this example.
The Baltimore Museum of Art by purchase, 1996; The Maryland Institute College of Art, through Henry Walters, Baltimore, by bequest 1909; from George A. Lucas, Paris
The Maryland Institute, Baltimore, "Exhibition of the George A. Lucas Art Collection", 1911, cat. #73.
The Baltimore Museum of Art, "From Ingres to Gauguin (Prints from the Museum Collection)", November-December 30, 1951, cat. #34.
The Baltimore Museum of Art, "The George A. Lucas Collection of the Maryland Institute", October 12-November 21, 1965, cat. #64, illus. p. 30.
The Baltimore Museum of Art, "19th Century European Painting", June 7-September 7, 1969.
The Baltimore Museum of Art, Downtown Gallery, "Selections from the Lucas Collection", July 21-August 22, 1975.
The Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, "The Human Form: Interpretations", February 8-March 2, 1981.
Memorial Art Gallery of the University of Rochester, "Orientalism: The Near East in French Painting, 1820-1880", August 27-October 17, 1982; circ. to Neuberger Museum, State University of New York, College at Purchase, November 4-December 23, 1982.
Royal Academy of Arts, Piccadilly, London, "Orientalisme from Delacroix to Matisse", March 24-May 20, 1984.
The Baltimore Museum of Art, "Parallels and Precedents, The George A. Lucas Collection in Context", August 23-October 15, 1995.
James Smalls, The Baltimore Museum of Art, "Henry Ossawa Tanner and the Lure of Paris", December 7, 2005-May 28, 2005.
Sona Johnston, The Baltimore Museum of Art, "A View Toward Paris: The Lucas Collection of 19th-Century French Art", October 1, 2006-December 31, 2006.
Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and the Musee des Augustin, Toulouse, "Marvels and Mirages of Orientalism: Benjamin Constant in His Time", Toulouse, Oct. 4, 2014-Jan. 4, 2015; Montreal, Jan. 26-May 21, 2015. BMA loan to Montreal only.
The Baltimore Museum of Art, "From Ingres to Gauguin (Prints from the Museum Collection)", November-December 30, 1951, cat. #34.
The Baltimore Museum of Art, "The George A. Lucas Collection of the Maryland Institute", October 12-November 21, 1965, cat. #64, illus. p. 30.
The Baltimore Museum of Art, "19th Century European Painting", June 7-September 7, 1969.
The Baltimore Museum of Art, Downtown Gallery, "Selections from the Lucas Collection", July 21-August 22, 1975.
The Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, "The Human Form: Interpretations", February 8-March 2, 1981.
Memorial Art Gallery of the University of Rochester, "Orientalism: The Near East in French Painting, 1820-1880", August 27-October 17, 1982; circ. to Neuberger Museum, State University of New York, College at Purchase, November 4-December 23, 1982.
Royal Academy of Arts, Piccadilly, London, "Orientalisme from Delacroix to Matisse", March 24-May 20, 1984.
The Baltimore Museum of Art, "Parallels and Precedents, The George A. Lucas Collection in Context", August 23-October 15, 1995.
James Smalls, The Baltimore Museum of Art, "Henry Ossawa Tanner and the Lure of Paris", December 7, 2005-May 28, 2005.
Sona Johnston, The Baltimore Museum of Art, "A View Toward Paris: The Lucas Collection of 19th-Century French Art", October 1, 2006-December 31, 2006.
Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and the Musee des Augustin, Toulouse, "Marvels and Mirages of Orientalism: Benjamin Constant in His Time", Toulouse, Oct. 4, 2014-Jan. 4, 2015; Montreal, Jan. 26-May 21, 2015. BMA loan to Montreal only.
Stevens, Mary Anne, ed. The Orientalists: Delacroix to Matisse: The Allure of North Africa and the Near East. Washington [DC]: National Gallery of Art; London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1984, page 102, plate 5.
Nathalie Bondil, Éditor, "Benjamin-Constant: Marvels and Mirages of Orientalism," Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, 2014, p. 271, cat. no. 270, color ill.
Inscribed: FACE: BR, 'B. Constant'. VERSO, FRAME: UC, 'BMA cat./1965/#64'
On View at the BMA
