Backstories: Le Violon D'Ingres

In 2022, an iconic photograph sold for $12.4 million, breaking the record for the most expensive photograph ever sold at auction. 

What is the focal point of this image? A butt, of course.

But it’s more interesting than that: The nude woman has the f-holes of a violin drawn onto her back, making her silhouette resemble the stringed instrument. 

The model in the image is the famous Kiki de Montparnasse, a Parisian artist and party girl well known during the roaring 1920s and the muse of the man behind the lens, a visual artist who went by Man Ray. 

He shot the image of her and then drew the f-holes onto the image after it was developed, taking a photo of that photo to create this surreal work of art.

This piece references the painter Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, who painted The Valpinçon Bather (1808)—a similar view of a nude woman from behind—and who used to play the violin as a pastime when he was not painting. Man Ray was a fan of Ingres's work, and this served as a layered representation of his current pastime: his lover Kiki.

Next time you’re capturing a special visual for a special someone, let Kiki and Man Ray inspire you to make it worthy of butt art history.

You never know—it might be the subject of a Christie’s bidding war in 100 years.