Artist

Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres

Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres prints bring the flawless line, smooth finish and cool elegance of French Neoclassical painting into your home. Ingres saw himself as a history painter in the tradition of Raphael, Poussin and David, but his portraits, painted and drawn, are now seen as his...Read more

Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres prints bring the flawless line, smooth finish and cool elegance of French Neoclassical painting into your home. Ingres saw himself as a history painter in the tradition of Raphael, Poussin and David, but his portraits, painted and drawn, are now seen as his greatest legacy. Our collection of fine art prints covers his portraits, odalisques, history paintings and fine pencil drawings.

About Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres

Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres was born in Montauban on 29 August 1780 into a modest family. He studied in Toulouse, where his teacher's devotion to Raphael became decisive; he was also a talented violinist and played in the Toulouse orchestra as a teenager. In Paris he studied with Jacques-Louis David, and in 1802 he made his Salon debut and won the Prix de Rome.

He went to Rome in 1806 and stayed in Italy, in Rome and then Florence, until 1824. Critics in Paris found the paintings he sent bizarre and archaic, and he earned his living largely with portrait drawings. In 1813 he married Madeleine Chapelle. His Vow of Louis XIII was acclaimed at the 1824 Salon, making him leader of the Neoclassical school in France, and his Portrait of Monsieur Bertin was a success in 1833.

Stung by criticism of The Martyrdom of Saint Symphorian, he returned to Italy as director of the French Academy in Rome in 1835, then came back to Paris for good in 1841. In his last years he painted portraits of women and The Turkish Bath, finished at 83. He died in Paris on 14 January 1867.

Style and Subjects

Ingres valued line above all. His figures are drawn with pure, flowing contours and painted with a smooth, enamel-like finish, inspired by Raphael, Greek vase painting and John Flaxman's outline engravings. He was not afraid to stretch anatomy for the sake of a beautiful line, as in the famously long back of the Grande Odalisque.

His portraits capture fabrics, jewellery and faces with astonishing precision, and his pencil portrait drawings are among the finest ever made. These expressive distortions made him an important forerunner of Matisse and Picasso.

Famous Works

Napoleon I on His Imperial Throne (1806), Musée de l'Armée, Paris. The emperor in his coronation robes, rigid and icon-like.
The Valpinçon Bather (1808), Louvre, Paris. A bather seen from behind, in soft, cool light.
Grande Odalisque (1814), Louvre, Paris. A reclining woman with an impossibly long, elegant back.
Niccolò Paganini. His pencil portrait of the great violinist.
The Martyrdom of Saint Symphorian (1834). The ambitious religious painting whose harsh reception sent him back to Rome.
Madame Moitessier (1856), National Gallery, London. A seated society woman in a flowered silk dress.
The Source (1856), Musée d'Orsay, Paris. A nude young woman pouring water from a jug.
The Turkish Bath (1862), Louvre, Paris. A round painting of bathers, finished when he was 83.

Decorating with Ingres Prints

Ingres's portraits, like Madame Moitessier or his pencil portraits such as Nicolas Poussin, suit formal rooms: a library, dining room or entrance hall with classic furniture. His drawings look elegant in simple frames on a pale wall.

His odalisques and bathers bring refined, sensuous beauty to a bedroom or dressing room.

FAQ

What art movement was Ingres part of?

Ingres was the leading Neoclassical painter in France after David, and saw himself as the guardian of academic tradition against Romanticism.

What is Ingres's most famous painting?

The Grande Odalisque (1814), The Turkish Bath (1862) and his portraits, such as Madame Moitessier and Monsieur Bertin, are among his best-known works.

Why is the Grande Odalisque's back so long?

Ingres stretched anatomy for the sake of graceful line, a kind of expressive distortion that later influenced modern artists such as Matisse and Picasso.