Footnotes

Exposé
Athens, Megaron - The Athens Concert Hall, C.P. Cavafy, his World and the Art Forms of his Time, November 2003 – January 2004, no. 26 under the title Odalisque after the Bath (discussed and illustrated in the exhibition catalogue, p. 40).
Athens, Benaki Museum, Theodoros Ralli, Looking East, December 11 2014 - February 22, 2015, no. 94 (illustrated in the exhibition catalogue, p. 123).

Littérature
Postcard printed by Aspioti Bros, Corfu, no. 237, c. 1910 (illustrated under the title Bain Maure).
Filologiki Protochronia annual review, vol. XIV, 1957, p. 206 (mentioned under the title Moorish Bath).
M. Katsanaki, Le Peintre Théodore Ralli (1852-1909) et son Œuvre, doctoral dissertation, Université Paris I - Panthéon-Sorbonne, 2007, no. 378, fig. 224 (illustrated).
M. Palioura, The Painting Oeuvre of Theodoros Ralli (1852-1909), doctoral dissertation, University of Athens, Athens 2008, vol. I, p. 134 (mentioned), vol. II, fig. 233 (illustrated).
M. Katsanaki, Theodore Ralli, A.G. Leventis Foundation - A.G. Leventis Gallery, Athens 2018, no. 186, p. 361 (catalogued), p. 290 (illustrated).

Ralli's extraordinary skill in the watercolour medium provides visual and tactile pleasures. Here, a luscious harem beauty with luminous complexion and satin, snow-white skin, possibly a Circassian from the Black Sea, sits naked on a Moorish hamam's¹ low divan, which is covered with a traditional long-haired blanket. Slightly twisting her torso to reinforce the message of languor and sensuousness, she confronts the viewer, inviting them to a dreamworld of oriental fantasy.

The setting, which is deliberately spartan to accentuate the beauty and grace of the female body, is enlivened by the inclusion of only few ethnographic details, namely the turban-like headpiece, the impressive nargile, and the ubiquitous pair of nalin² decorated with geometric designs. Through such scarce but poignant details, Ralli achieved unity of effect, successfully conveying an atmosphere of romantic mysticism and suggestive eroticism.

¹ For harem women, the hamam was a luxurious pastime, offering them a chance not only to purify but also to go out into the world.
² Ottoman high-heeled wooden footwear worn by bathers to protect them from slipping on wet surfaces.