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| 1800c Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres by Jaques-Louis David oil on canvas 54 x 47 cm Pushkin Museum, Moscow |
Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres (1780 – 1867) was a French
Neoclassical artist. Although he considered himself to be a painter of history in the tradition of
Nicolas Poussin and Jacques-Louis David, by the end of his life it was Ingres's
portraits, both painted and drawn, that were recognised as his greatest legacy.
Ingres
was born in Montauban, France, the first of seven children. His father was a
successful jack-of-all-trades in the arts, a painter of miniatures, sculptor, decorative
stonemason, and amateur musician; his mother was the nearly illiterate daughter
of a master wigmaker. From his father the young Ingres received
early encouragement and instruction in drawing and music, and his first known
drawing, a study after an antique cast, was made in 1789.
Starting
in 1786 he attended the local school École des Frères de l'Éducation
Chrétienne, but his education was disrupted by the turmoil of the French Revolution, and the closing of
the school in 1791 marked the end of his conventional education. The deficiency
in his schooling would always remain for him a source of insecurity.
In
1791, Joseph Ingres took his son to Toulouse,
where the young Jean-Auguste-Dominique was enrolled in the Académie Royale de
Peinture, Sculpture et Architecture. There he studied under the sculptor
Jean-Pierre Vigan, the landscape painter Jean Briant, and the neoclassical
painter Guillaume-Joseph Roques. Roques'
veneration of Raphael was a
decisive influence on the young artist. Ingres won prizes in several
disciplines, such as composition, "figure and antique", and life
studies.
In March 1797, the Academy awarded Ingres first prize
in drawing, and in August he travelled to Paris to study with Jacques-Louis
David, France's - and Europe's - leading painter during the revolutionary
period, in whose studio he remained for four years. He was admitted to the
Painting Department of the École des Beaux-Arts in October 1799, and won, after
tying for second place in 1800, the Grand
Prix de Rome in 1801 for his “The Ambassadors of Agamemnon in the Tent
of Achilles.”His trip to Rome, however, was postponed until 1806, when the
financially strained government finally appropriated the travel funds.
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| 1801 The Ambassadors of Agamemnon in the Tent of Achilles oil on canvas 110 x 155 cm École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts, Paris |
In 1802 he made his debut at the Salon with “Portrait of a Woman” (the
current whereabouts of which is unknown). The following year brought a
prestigious commission, when Ingres was one of five artists selected to paint
full-length portraits of Napolean Bonaparte as First Consul. These were to be distributed to the
prefectural towns which were newly ceded to France in 1801. Napoleon is
not known to have granted the artists a sitting, and Ingres's meticulously
painted portrait appears to be modelled on an image of Napoleon painted by
Antoine-Jean Gros in 1802.
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| 1804 Napoleon Bonaparte in the Uniform of the First Consul oil on canvas 227 x 147 cm Musée d'Armes, Liège, Belgium |
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| Antoine-Jean Gros Napolean Bonaparte as First Consul oil on canvas 208 x 130.9 cm |
In the summer of 1806 Ingres became engaged to Marie-Anne-Julie
Forestier, a painter and musician, before leaving for Rome in September. Although he had hoped to
stay in Paris long enough to witness the opening of that year's Salon, in which
he was to display several works, he reluctantly left for Italy just days before
the opening. At the Salon, his paintings, including “Napolean I on his Imperial
Throne,” produced a disturbing impression on the public. Both David and the critics were uniformly
hostile, finding fault with the strange discordances of colour, the want of
sculptural relief, the chilly precision of contour, and the self-consciously
archaic quality.
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| 1806 Napolean I on his Imperial Throne oil on canvas 260 x 163 cm Musée de I'Arnée, Paris |
Newly arrived in Rome, Ingres read with mounting
indignation the relentlessly negative press clippings sent to him from Paris by
his friends. In letters to his prospective father-in-law, he expressed his
outrage at the critics: "So the Salon is the scene of my
disgrace; ... The scoundrels, they waited until I was away to assassinate
my reputation ... I have never been so unhappy." He vowed never again
to exhibit at the Salon, and his refusal to return to Paris led to the breaking
up of his engagement to Julie Forestier.
Installed in a studio on the grounds of the Villa
Medici, Ingres continued his studies and, as required of every winner of
the Prix, he sent works at regular intervals to Paris so his
progress could be judged. As his “envoi” of
1808 Ingres sent “Oedipus and the Sphinx” and “The Valpinçon Bather,” hoping by
these two paintings to demonstrate his mastery of the male and female nude. The
verdict of the academicians was that the figures were not sufficiently
idealized. In later years Ingres painted variants of both compositions;
another nude begun in 1807, the “Venus
Anadyomene,” remained in an unfinished state for decades, to be
completed forty years later and finally exhibited in 1855.
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| 1808 Oedipus and the Sphinx oil on canvas 189 x 144 cm Musée du Louvre, Paris |
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| n.d. Study for "Oedipus and the Sphinx" graphite on wove paper 50.7 x 39 cm The Morgan Library and Museum, New York City |
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| 1808 The Valpinçon Bather oil on canvas 146 x 97.5 cm Musée du Louvre, Paris |
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| 1808 The Valpinçon Bather watercolour and white gouache over graphite on white wove paper 34 x 22.8 cm Fogg Museums, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, MA |
In 1810 Ingres's pension at the Villa Medici ended,
but he decided to stay in Rome and seek patronage from the French occupation
government. In 1811
Ingres finished his final student exercise, the immense “Jupiter and Thetis,” which was once again harshly judged in
Paris.
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| 1811 Jupiter and Thetis oil on canvas 32 x 260 cm Musée Granet, Aix-en-Provence, France |
The
desire to stay in Italy after his scholarship ended prompted Ingres to earn a
living once again as a portraitist, this time of Napoleonic officials and
dignitaries. Whatever prosperity he had acquired disappeared in 1825 with the
fall of the Napoleonic Empire. Though he despised such commissions, Ingre’s
portraits are among his most admired works. He eventually distinguished himself
as a master of the “Troubadour” genre, painting Medieval and Renaissance
subjects in the artistic likeness of each prospective period. An example is
“Paolo and Francesca,” which features two ill-fated lovers from Dante’s
“Inferno.” He produced seven known versions between 1814 and 1819.
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| 1819 Paolo and Francesca oil on canvas Musée des Beaux-Arts, Angers, France |
Also
exhibited in the same Salon was “La Grande Odalisque.” Although it would later
become a most celebrated painting, critics of the day were outraged by it’s
presence in the Salon. Once again Ingres’ subtle modelling was attacked. His
perverse desires for human anatomy, as seen by the elongation of her back made
her an “unknown creature.”
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| 1814 La Grande Odalisque oil on canvas 91 x 162 cm Musée du Louvre, Paris |
At the
age of 40 Ingres final caught a break as he gained positive recognition as a
religious painter. In 1820 he moved from Rome to Florence and adapted to the
evolution of a more conventional, classical style. At the 1824 Salon, Ingres
gained critical praise for “The Vow of Louis XIII,” displaying the union of
Church and State. He was also elected to the Académie des Beaux-Arts.
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| 1824 The Vow of Louis XIII oil on canvas 421 x 262 cm Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Montauban, France |
With
this one exhibit, his role as the most vilified artist in France transformed
into one of the most celebrated, and prompted him to stay in the country. The
following year he opened what would become the largest and most important
teaching studio in Paris. Going back to his love of history paintings, Ingres
created “Apotheosis of Homer.” its exhibition in the 1827 Salon helped to
establish Ingres as a cultural conservator who defended the authority of the
ancients.
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| 1827 Apotheosis of Homer oil on canvas 386 x 515 cm Musée du Louvre, Paris |
In 1829
Ingres became professor at the École des Beaux-Arts, and four years later he
was elected President for the following year. During that period however,
Ingres was accused of imposing his personal style on the entire school, and
such heavy charges were not forgotten. At the 1834 Salon, Ingres’ “Martyrdom of
Saint-Symphorien” was violently criticized by all. Ingres vowed that this would
be his last exhibit at the Salon. That same year he left Paris for Rome once
more to direct at the Académie de France.
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| 1834 The Martyrdom of Saint Symphorian oil on canvas Autun Cathedral, France |
During
his six years at the Académie he continued with his own works. The positive
response to “Antiochus and Stratonice” was once again in his favour. In 1841 he
returned to Paris triumphant, even dining with the King.
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| 1840 Antiochus And Stratonice oil on canvas Musée Condé, Chantilly, France |
In his
60s Ingres was recognized as the greatest living artist in France. Though a
history painter, his major commissions were portraits, as he became the most
sought-after portraitist. Abstaining from the Salon for more than two decades,
Ingres entered 69 pieces to the 1855 Universal Exposition in Paris. The reviews
were mixed; to the Conservatives he was the last great representative of “the
grand tradition,” to the Progressives his style was old-fashioned and
irrelevant to contemporary advance in painting. Continuing to paint into his
latter years prved beneficial for Ingres – it was then that he completed his
most notable works; his two most recognizable pieces, “La Source” and “The
Turkish Bath.”
“La
Source” is a representation of a nude 13-year old girl without the anatomical
distortion so often seen in Ingres work.
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| 1856c La Source oil on canvas 163 x 80 cm Musée d'Orsay, Paris |
Returning
to his true belief in the ideal, in “The Turkish Bath” Ingres displays the
female form in many distorted poses.
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| 1862 The Turkish Bath oil on canvas 108 cm diameter Musée du Louvre, Paris |
Ingres
was married for 36 years to his love, Madeleine. The birth of a still-born baby
left them without children. Madeleine died in 1849. He continued to paint for
the remainder of his widower years up until his death in 1867. He died a
wealthy man, honoured and revered by many of his pupils. He left an impact on
the artistic world as a true Neoclassical artist, and an inspiration to many
influential painters that succeeded him.
This is
part 1 of a 8 – part series on the works of Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres:
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| 1796 Portrait of a Man graphite on parchment, with black ink and green watercolour 9 cm diameter National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC |
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| 1797 Profile Portrait of a Man graphite on parchment laid on white laid paper 6.9 cm diameter Fogg Art Gallery, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, MA |
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| 1798 Pierre Guillaume Cazeaux chalk Private Collection |
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| 1800 Male Torso oil on canvas 102 x 80 cm École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts, Paris |
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| 1800 Pierre-François Bernier (1779-1803) oil on canvas |
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| 1800 Venus, Wounded by Diomedes, Returns to Olympus oil on wood 26.5 x 33 cm Kunstmuseum Basel, Switzerland |
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| 1801 Academic Study of a Male Torso oil on canvas 97.5 x 80.6 cm National Museum, Warsaw |
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| 1802-06 Study of a Nymph from the Fountain of the Innocents, after Jean Goujon ( see below ) black chalk 43.2 x 10.2 cm Los Angeles County Museum of Art, CA |
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| Jean Gojon "Nymph" 1548-49 marble Musée du Louvre, Paris |
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| 1802-06c A Nymph after Jean Gougon ( see below ) graphite on paper 46 x 11.7 cm The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, UK |
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| Jean Gojon Nymph 1548-49 marble Musée du Louvre, Paris |
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| 1802-06c A nymph after Jean Goujon ( see below ) graphite on paper 45.4 x 11.6 cm The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, UK |
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| Jean Gojon Nymph 1548-49 marble Musée du Louvre, Paris |
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| 1804 Jean-Marie-Joseph Ingres oil on canvas 55 x 47 cm Musée Ingres, Montauban, France |
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| 1804 Portrait of a Young Woman black chalk and stumping on cream wove paper 39.8 x 32 cm Fogg Art Gallery, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, MA |
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| 1804-05c Jean-Pierre-François Gilibert oil on canvas 99 x 81 cm Musée Ingres, Montauban, France |
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| 1805 Belveze-Foulon Musée Ingres, Montauban, France |
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| 1805 Joseph Vialètes de Mortarieu oil on canvas 56 x 46 cm Norton Simon Museum, Pasadena, CA |
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| 1805 Mademoiselle Rivière oil on canvas 100 x 70 cm Musée du Louvre, Paris |
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| 1805 Philbert Rivière oil on canvas 116 x 89 cm Musée du Louvre, Paris |
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| 1806 Jean François Julien Menager |
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| 1806 Le Casino De L'Aurore De La Villa Ludovisi 17.5 cm diameter Musée Ingres, Montauban, France |
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| 1806 Madame Aymon ( La Belle Zelie ) oil on canvas 59 x 49 cm Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rouen, France |
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| 1806 Madame Rivière oil on canvas 116.5 x 81.7 cm Musée du Louvre, Paris |
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| 1806 Maria Maddalena Magli ( Mme. Baryolini ) graphite on cream wove paper 20.8 x 15.9 cm de Young / Legion of Honour Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, CA |
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| 1806 Orangery Villa Borghese 17.5 cm diameter Musée Ingres, Montauban, France |
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| 1806 Suvée, Director of the Academy of France in Rome Musée Bonnat, Bayonne, France |
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| 1806 The Forestier Family graphite Musée du Louvre, Paris |
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| 1807 Antonia Duvaucey de Nittis oil on canvas 76 x 59 cm Musée Condé, Chantilly, France |
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| 1807 Half-Figure of a Bather oil on canvas Musée Bonnat, Bayonne, France |
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| 1807 The Painter Francois-Marius Granet oil on canvas 74.5 x 63.2 cm Musée granet, Aix-en-Provence, France |
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| 1807 View of the Villa Medici graphite and wash on paper 28.9 x 23.1 cm Musée Ingres, Montauban, France |
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| 1808 Madame Guillaume Guillon Lethière, née Marie-Joseph-Honorée Vanzenne, and her son Lucien Lethière graphite 24.1 x 18.7 cm Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City |
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| 1808 Portrait of the Architect François-Désiré Girard de Bury graphite 13.3 x 7.9 cm Fogg Art Galler, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, MA |
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| 1808 Victor Dourlen |
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