Le Violon D Ingres is one of many surrealist photographs created by Man Ray.
He was inspired to create this one by the nude paintings of Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres. As in Ingres’s Grande Odalisca the model for Man Ray’s photo Kiki also wears a turban. He then altered the classical nude image by adding the f-holes of a stringed instrument. These were painted on to the photographic print which was then re -photographed to create the finished piece.
The title Le Violon d'Ingres is a French idiom that means "hobby” and seems to suggest that, while playing the violin was Ingres's hobby, toying with Kiki was a pastime of Man Ray. The picture maintains a tension between the objectification and appreciation of the female form.
