Paintings by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres (1780-1867)
Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres (1780-1867) was a distinguished French Neoclassical painter. Although he initially identified himself as a history painter in the tradition of Nicolas Poussin and Jacques-Louis David, his portraits, both in oil and pencil, eventually emerged as his most celebrated creations.
Ingres possessed profound reverence for the artistic heritage of the past and took on the role of preserving academic tradition at a time when Romanticism, championed by his rival Eugène Delacroix, was gaining prominence. He once proclaimed, “I am thus a guardian of established principles, not an innovator,” emphasizing his commitment to upholding the classical principles of art.
However, despite his Neoclassical foundation, modern interpretations often perceive Ingres and his contemporaries as embodying the Romantic spirit of their era. His distinct approach to form and space laid the groundwork for modern art.
Ingres developed his distinctive style early in life, which remained relatively constant throughout his career. His early drawings, such as the Portrait of a Man, already displayed his remarkable control of hatchwork techniques and precise outlines. He firmly believed that “drawing is the integrity of art” and considered color as secondary to drawing. He stressed that drawing encompassed not only outlines but also expression, composition, and modeling.
Ingres steered clear of visible brushstrokes and did not rely on the shifting effects of color and light favored by the Romanticists. Instead, he concentrated on local colors gently modeled by subtle half-tones. His guiding principle was, “Whatever you know, you must know it with sword in hand.” This approach occasionally presented challenges in achieving a unified effect in complex compositions.
Among Ingres’s historical and mythological paintings, his most successful works often depicted one or two figures. In pieces like Oedipus, The Half-Length Bather, Odalisque, and The Spring, he excelled at portraying subjects exuding perfect physical well-being. However, he grappled with conveying movement and drama, as evidenced in Roger Freeing Angelica.
Art critic Sanford Schwartz observed that Ingres’s historical and mythological works often lacked palpable inner tension, resembling costume dramas. Facial expressions seemed more akin to those of models awaiting the end of their session, and emotions, when depicted, often appeared either exaggerated or wooden.
Ingres’s choice of subjects mirrored his limited literary interests, primarily centered around authors like Homer, Virgil, Plutarch, Dante, and artists’ biographies. He revisited a select number of favorite themes throughout his life, occasionally producing multiple versions of major compositions. Battle scenes, which were popular in his era, did not captivate him; instead, he preferred portraying moments of revelation, intimate decisions, and human interactions devoid of violence.
Ingres’s fascination with odalisques, often portraying reclining female figures, was influenced by the writings of Mary Wortley Montagu. Her diaries and letters chronicled life in Turkey during her husband’s diplomatic mission, captivating European society upon their publication.
