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Why did La Grande Odalisque outrage critics at the 1819 Salon?

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Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres: Self-portrait — Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres Self-portrait, oil on canvas by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, c. 1800; in the Condé Museum, Chantilly, France.

At the 1819 Salon, La Grande Odalisque (1814) drew sharp criticism and outrage primarily due to the artist's use of radical anatomical distortions.1

Critics ridiculed the painting for its "radically attenuated modeling," viewing the figure as a creature that could not exist in nature. Specific points of contention included:1

Anatomical Distortions: The figure was criticized for having a "rubbery, boneless" right arm and "wildly expanded buttocks".1
Exaggerated Proportions: The back of the figure was so significantly elongated that one famous critic quipped she possessed "three vertebrae too many".1

These stylistic choices were perceived as a departure from naturalism, leading critics to view the work as a product of the artist's "erotic imagination" rather than a faithful representation of the human form. This reception was consistent with the broader critical hostility Ingres faced during this period, as reviewers often characterized his work as "savage" or primitive for its rejection of conventional academic modeling.1