Focusing his interest on historical scenes and portraits (mainly of women), Ingres paints Odalisque With Slave based on the little knowledge he actually knows about Middle Eastern culture. Ingres's favorite subject to paint was the odalisque, a female concubine living in an Ottoman household. Here, you see a reclined, exposed slave, listening to a servant's lute music. This is Ingres' Western interpretation of Middle Eastern culture. He never visited the Near East. The painting was composed in Rome. It's the perfect example of the Orientalist subject that many French painters of the Romantic era liked to focus on.

Odalisque With Slave is actually the second composition, painted from a life drawing Ingres made years earlier. The woman's positioning is similar to that of Ingres' other work. It's languid,  as if she's just draped herself on the bed. The popped hip makes the viewer wonder if she's moving her body to the music. Ingres experiments with abstracting the body, introducing more exotic and complex subjects like here with the provocative woman.

Looking towards the back, the room is enclosed. This is the confined life of the three servants. The enclosure represents the shared experience, the shared lifestyle and treatment of the bunch. The room has no exit. Although they share an experience, the odalisque has it better than most. The cup, crown, and hookah could be gifts from her master, presents to pass the time. The piece is colorful, and although Ingres wanted to emphasize contours, he thought lines to be more crucial. The patterns stand out to the eye. I notice the blue tarp underneath the woman and thought of Boucher's signature touch.

This piece is beautiful in composure but lacks meaning. Yes, it can be seen as a historical piece, but Ingres obtuse interpretation makes it not so. I appreciate the brightness and mystery of the subject's, but I don't care for the piece knowing the uneducated background.