Baroque, Rococo, Neoclassicism, & Romanticism

Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres
(1780-1867)

French Neoclassical Painter

Ingres was the main Neoclassical painter after his mentor Jacques-Louis David died in 1825. He was very much influenced by David an the works of antiquity he saw in the Louvre. His style was in opposition to Eugene Delacroix and the rising Romanticism style. He spent time studying art between Paris and Rome and had many ups and downs throughout his career and at the end of it, there was left no one to continue on the Neoclassical style that he carried on for David. He was varied with his subject matter throughout his career—ranging from historical paintings to portraits but at the end of it, he was the most sought-after society portrait painter in France.

As a student of David, Ingres also had a firm belief that more attention should be paid to the drawing of lines and contours rather than colour. This is what he thought set himself apart from the Romantics. While he held this belief, he still also had an excellent grasp on colour and texture in the way he handled fabrics and clothing.

I find the drawings so enlightening to Ingres’ process. You can see what he chooses to pays attention to in his sketches and how that plays out in the final paintings. He focuses on the softness of the face and hair and pays close attention to the way the fabric creases. All this forethought comes through in his final pieces.

He was known for his ‘obsessive perfectionism’ and Ingres was actually resented by his contemporaries because he was very good at what he did. His preciseness and smooth finishes are a part of his desire to depict ideal beauty which resulted in some distorted proportions of his figures. His painting of Mademoiselle Caroline Rivière in 1806 (shown below) gives her an elongated neck and nose which just doesn’t look quite anatomically correct.

To me, his figures take on a porcelain doll look—the texture of the skin is rendered to such an unblemished surface that it looks unreal and hard to connect with. The doll-like quality given to the females he paints is a bit uneasy, but at the same time the entire painting just demands to be examined all over as he pays such careful attention to all the elements in the painting.

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References

https://www.nga.gov/collection/artist-info.1411.html

https://ezproxy.capilanou.ca/login?url=https://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/heliconhe/ingres_jean_auguste_dominique/0?institutionId=6884

http://www.artnet.com/artists/jean-auguste-dominique-ingres/2

https://www.britannica.com/biography/J-A-D-Ingres/Late-life-and-works