Le Violon d’Ingres

photograph by Man Ray

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July 14, 2026

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Le Violon d’Ingres is a 1924 photograph by Man Ray, a prominent figure in the Dada and Surrealist movements. The image features Kiki de Montparnasse, a muse and performer, with f-holes, characteristic of a violin, superimposed onto her bare back. This artistic choice transforms her body into a musical instrument, playing on the title's reference to Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres's painting La Grande Odalisque and the French idiom "le violon d'Ingres," meaning a hobby or pastime. The photograph exemplifies Surrealism's exploration of the irrational and the bizarre, merging the human form with an unexpected object to create a striking and enigmatic visual.12

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Man Ray
…pairs of eyes, and in Le Violon d’Ingres (1924) he photographically superimposed sound holes, or f holes, onto the photograph of the back of a female nude, making the woman’s body resemble that of a violin. He also continued to produce ready-mades. One, a metronome with a photograph of an…
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…pairs of eyes, and in Le Violon d’Ingres (1924) he photographically superimposed sound holes, or f holes, onto the photograph of the back of a female nude, making the woman’s body resemble that of a violin. He also continued to produce ready-mades. One, a metronome with a photograph of an…
Read More

Kiki de Montparnasse
Le Violon d’Ingres shows Kiki’s bare back with f-holes painted in black onto the print to suggest her body as a musical instrument. André Breton published the image in the final issue of his literary journal Littérature (June 1924). Two years later Man Ray created…
Read More
Le Violon d’Ingres shows Kiki’s bare back with f-holes painted in black onto the print to suggest her body as a musical instrument. André Breton published the image in the final issue of his literary journal Littérature (June 1924). Two years later Man Ray created…
Read More