Oedipus and the Sphinx (Ingres)

As his envoi of 1808 Ingres sent a life-size Figure of Oedipus and The Valpinçon Bather, hoping by these two paintings to demonstrate his mastery of the male and female nude.

[1] The academicians were moderately critical of the treatment of light in both paintings, and considered the figures to be insufficiently idealized.

[1] Within the expanded picture space he created a dramatic contrast between the brightly illuminated landscape seen in the distance, and the shadows that envelop the Sphinx.

[1] Ingres modified the pose of the Sphinx and added the human remains seen in the lower left corner.

[3] The fleeing man seen at the right, whose attitude and expression reveal Ingres's study of Poussin, was also added at this time.