The major French painters of the first half of
the 19th century were Eugène Delacroix and Ingres {ang'-gruh}, who were then seen as leaders
of the opposed styles of romanticism and neoclassicism. Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres, b. Aug. 29,
1780, d. Jan. 14, 1867, learned drawing from his sculptor father before attending the Academy of
Art in Toulouse from 1791.
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"The Grand Odalisque"
by Jean Auguste Ingres
Louvre, Paris
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In 1797 he entered Jacques Louis David's studio in Paris. He won the Prix de Rome in 1801, but
lack of government funds prevented him from going to Italy until 1806. He remained there until
1824, later supporting himself by painting portraits.
The neoclassicism of Ingres's style was already
apparent in the painting that won him the Prix de Rome, The Ambassadors of Agamemnon Arriving
at the Tent of Achilles (1801; Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Paris). Stress on line was an important
part of this style. Although classical antiquity often inspired Ingres, his iconic portrait of
Napoleon (1806; Musee de l'Armee, Paris) was influenced by Byzantine art and Jan van Eyck.
While in Italy Ingres sent paintings to Paris
for exhibition, but they were frequently attacked because of their unorthodox style. He rejected
the influence of any artist after the 16th-century Italian painter Raphael and vigorously defended
his preference for classical art.
In 1824 he returned to France to show his important religious painting The Vow of Louis XIII
(1823; Montaubon Cathedral, France), which met with a triumphant success and appealed to both
neoclassical and romantic tastes. Ingres became famous: Charles X awarded him the Cross of the
Legion of Honor; he was elected to the Academy of Fine Arts and opened a large, flourishing studio.
He was to remain in Paris for the rest of his life, except for the period 1834-41, when he was
director of the French Academy in Rome.
He painted historical and religious subjects
throughout his career and was also drawn to exotic Levantine subjects, notably a series of bathers
(begun 1807), of which the most famous are the Turkish Bath (1859-63; Louvre, Paris) and
The Grand Odalisque (1814; Louvre). Ingres also executed commissions for portraits, in which
his meticulous method of painting captured details and textures with astounding verisimilitude. The
polemical distinction between romantic and neoclassic, which Ingres himself did much to enforce,
cannot be applied to his work dogmatically. His enormous canvas The Dream of Ossian (1813;
Musée Ingres, Montauban), originally intended to decorate a palace in which Napoleon was
expected to stay while in Rome, is thoroughly romantic in subject and style. The nonclassical
enthusiasms of his time are reflected in his taste for Eastern subjects and historical romances.
Kenneth Bendiner, Assistant Professor of Art, Wellesley College, Wellesley, Mass.
Source: The Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia, Release #9.01, ©1997.
Bibliography: W. Pach, Ingres (1939; repr. 1983);
G. Picon, Ingres (1991);
R. Rosenblum, Ingres (1967; repr. 1990).
Images: "The Grand Odalisque", 1814 (Louvre, Paris/Photo Explorer);
"Mademoiselle Rivière", 1805 (Louvre, Paris/Giraudon/Art Resource, NY).
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