Le Violon d'Ingres

Man Ray, born Emmanuel Radnitzky , was an American photographer who spent most of his career in Paris, France.

In one of these cafés Man Ray managed to win the heart of one of the most renowned women in Montparnasse. Alice Prin was born in Châtillon-sur-Seine, Côte d'Or, Burgundy, France. An illegitimate child, she was raised in abject poverty by her grandmother. At age twelve, she was sent to live with her mother in Paris in order to find work. She first worked in shops and bakeries. By age fourteen, she was posing nude for sculptors, which created discord with her mother.She chose a name Kiki.

Kiki of Montparnasse was incredibly fascinating and extravagant, showing off her short hair, heavy make-up and rouge covered lips Infamous in the Bohemian district,Paris, she was a muse to many painters.

Kiki is the subject of some of Man Ray’s most famous photographs. Other than being Man Ray’s muse, she also played an important part in his life, sentimentally speaking; this helped Man Ray’s visibility and prestige in the Parisian society.

Man Ray was an admirer of the paintings of Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres and made a series of photographs, inspired by Ingres's languorous nudes. He photographed Kiki in the same Ingres pose, painting the f -holes of a stringed instrument onto the print and then rephotographing the print. He titled it ‘Le Violon d'Ingres’ , an ironic title as in French ‘Ingres’ is an idiom for ‘hobby.’ The image of the transformation of Kiki's body into a musical instrument maintains a tension between objectification and appreciation of the female form.