The Turkish Bath, diameter 108 cm, painted 1859-1863, oil on canvas, held in the Louvre Museum. Ingres (1780-1867) was one of the most representative painters active in Neoclassicism and Romanticism in the 19th century. He was a leading disciple of the Neoclassical master David, traveled to Italy multiple times, discovered Raphael there, and decided to become a history painter. His works, within idealized classical realism, strengthen their perfect forms through simplification and deformation. Sensual nude women are common in his works, each vividly portrayed, all derived from exquisite sketches. Ingres painted many nudes throughout his life; the early "The Grand Odalisque" and later "The Small Bather" both have a continuous relationship with this "Turkish Bath." After years of profound study, it culminated in the peak of his lifelong aesthetics, "The Turkish Bath" (Ingres completed this masterpiece at the advanced age of 84; it is his best work from his late years). In this intimate and leisurely work, we see Ingres's consistent expression, retaining his fresh and extraordinary sensibility, exploring deep space and excellent, perfect imagery, like a bold and dazzling mirror. Various bathers with graceful postures display their sensual bodies in the spacious environment and bright light. They have varied curves, full breasts, smooth and soft skin, and faces resembling classical Venus. However, in this circular and complex form, composed of two semicircles forming the foreground and background: in the foreground, a musician facing away from the viewer, with a turban wrapped around her head (her pose is identical to that in the early "Grand Bather," please compare), sits on the ground playing the lute leisurely. Beside her, a nude woman with a round face lies diagonally, her head resting on a floral cushion, wearing glittering jewelry around her neck, her hands crossed above her head, gazing at the viewer with a mix of sensuality and casualness. Next to her sit a pair of bathers leaning intimately together, one sitting upright and another standing while playing with her hair. In the background, a large group of bathers, sitting, lying, standing, walking, or dancing, are all full of vitality amidst the rising and falling rhythms. Among them, we see two Black women, whose dark skin just highlights the other pure and sensual bodies. The exquisite tea sets, colored porcelain on the small table in the foreground, or the precious jewelry, turbans, velvet, cushions, etc., on the bathers' bodies are meticulously depicted, showcasing Ingres's artistic connotation. The inspiration for this work comes from Lady Montague's description in her letters "The Turkish Bath of Adrianople": "There were probably nearly 200 beautiful bathers, intimately sitting and lying in the public bath on these gorgeous carpets and cushions. They were naked, but without obscene movements or lewd postures, etc." This work was originally square, collected by Prince Napoleon, but his wife thought it indecent, so Ingres changed the figures in the painting, altered it to a circular format, and sold it to the Turkish Ambassador to France. This is the origin of today's circular work. Additionally, his early masterpiece "The Grand Bather" and the famous "Odalisque" are also brilliant works of Ingres's Neoclassicism. After the mid-19th century, Neoclassicism became the model for academic art.