Le Viol d'Ingres par Axell

In this painting, the artist portrays herself as the Venus de Milo, sitting with her legs apart and her back turned to the ruins of a Greek temple, evoking Antiquity and a cold representation of the woman as temptress. The painting Le Viol d’Ingres par Axell (The Rape of Ingres by Axell) by Evelyne Axell, where the traditional technique of oil on canvas contrasts with enamel colouring in synthetic materials, projects the viewer into the midst of a playful duel between tradition and modernity.

This self portrait, probably her last, made in 1968, testifies to the artistic research conducted by Evelyne Axell, who gradually abandons the oil on canvas technique in favour of synthetic materials and plastic resins, allowing her, here, to assert herself as a modern Venus, through the prism of proud and provocative carnality.

The painting Le Viol d’Ingres par Axell, part of the Pinault Collection, was presented for the first time in 2014 at the “Femminilità Radicale” (“Radical Femininity”) show at the Gucci Museo in Florence.