Ingres

Self-portrait at age 24, 1804

Continuing with the greats of Neoclassicism, Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres was a giant both of France and Europe in his day. Born on August 29, 1780 his father was also a talented artist who encouraged Jean to pursue his vocation, and ultimately he developed a profound respect for Raphael that would influence both his drawing and painting for the rest of his career. A staunch Neoclassicist, he was very apprehensive of the oncoming wind that would become Romanticism, a reaction to the strictness of order and form that Ingres loved so dearly. Ironically, it is Ingres himself who would subtly distort his own anatomy in such a way that would have a deep influence on Modernism less than fifty years after his death.


Above we see one of the most youthful and inspiring self-portraits of any painter, which shows both Ingres as a handsome young man and a painter already at a level of a master. One can sense a certain vanity that accompanies artists of such calibre and in their immortal twenties: he frames himself in a red robe that somehow conveys the student and the artist, yet his face somehow has a youthful innocence. Maybe he knew he could paint but he yearned for more challenges.






La Grande baigneuse, 1808

A painting that really needs no introduction, found everywhere in "high" pop culture nowadays, here looking at it we immediately sense Ingres' love of women and a distinct French style that is unmistakable. Look at how she seems to hide in the shadows, looking off into nowhere away from the viewer...if this isn't modern I don't know what is. Ingres manages to create a nude of a woman that is sympathetic and highly feminine. The way she slouches, as if tired, unwittingly conveys the old-fashioned Classicism as tired itself, instead revealing a modest woman whose skin is hypnotic and her coyness seemingly tells an inner story. Here we also see how Ingres distorts her foot in a way that is nearly amateurish but done deliberately, as if to announce that perfection is not real and not necessary to depict always.






Portrait of the Princess Albert de Broglie, 1853
click here for expandable Met version


Another very famous portrait of incredible detail that was a big influence on the moderns, this was his last commissioned female portrait and arguably his greatest. Having spent considerable time on the drapery and ornate tracery, he captures a woman with intelligence and grace that mesmerizes. Look at the subtle veil behind her head and the thin paint he uses to achieve this. We can also see a green glaze on parts of the blue drapery, which gives it a distinct texture to the glow of the fabric, and Ingres repeats this green on the edges of her hand and elbow. The simplicity of contrasting two colors, blue and yellow here with the greyish green shadow on the wall behind her is so captivating yet surreal. On the yellow chair we also see her accoutrements: white gloves, a hat, fan, a scarf perhaps...yet it is the way Ingres uses her jewelry to convey her importance and social status that intrigues us. Ingres creates a portrait that is unusually formal and sensual at the same time. She died of tuberculosis at the height of her beauty and her husband treasured this portrait in her honor.







Niccolo Paganini, 1819

It is worth mentioning also that Ingres made a significant amount of portrait drawings, of which over 450 survive, that he made during his years in Rome to make extra income. Ingres played the violin also, and was good friends with Paganini depicted here in a graceful and stylish pose. These drawings apparently took only four hours to produce, and Ingres used only graphite pencil and wove paper. Ingres also has the unique distinction of having a type of drawing paper named after him.



Apotheosis of Homer,1827

One of Ingres' most elaborate paintings, it is said over a hundred drawings were made in preparation for it. Look closely and you can see a few famous faces, including Poussin, Raphael (lead by the hand by Apelles), Dante, Molière, among others. Note the two women as sibyl-like in green and orange, a reference to Michelangelo. The deep blue sky seems to mimic a dawn, using deep blues and yellows.





La Grande Odalisque, 1814


One of the most beautiful nudes of all time, this famous painting once again reveals Ingres fascination with beauty yet unravelling the anatomical for the smoothness of tactile skin. Considered almost Mannerist by some in its contorted pose, Ingres creates the feminine mystique with that hint of modesty and coyness in her body language, with her hand attempting to pull the drapery over her left leg. Her gaze is direct and self-assured, however...somehow reminiscent of that young man in the self-portrait of age twenty-four. Ingres tells us that what we leave out or suggest is equally important as what we depict, if not more so. The love of blue fabric and the ornate details also suggest a world that is already growing in narcissism, that beauty is really synonymous with youth, and materialism is more important than nature. Had Ingres lived another fifty years he would have reeled at what direction his beloved Classicism sank into.