Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres
Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres was a French Neoclassical artist who lived from 1780 to 1867. Though his greatest inspirational work came from his large-scale history paintings, Ingres is most remembered today for his high-quality portrait paintings.
Ingres was born into a large, but relatively poor family. His father was an artist, not only in the visual arts, but in music and decorative stonework. It was his father that gave Ingres his first art lessons and promoted his early education. From age 11 to 17, Ingres studied art at the Fine Arts Academy of Toulouse in southern France.
In 1797, Ingres moved to Paris to pursue his art. He enrolled at the Académie Royale de Peinture, Sculpture et Architecture, after the French Revolution. In Paris, Ingres first learned of the Italian Renaissance master, Raphael. Raphael would soon become his greatest source of inspiration. In addition to traditional schooling, Ingres studied at the studio of the well-known Neoclassical painter, Jacques-Louis David. This education and exposure expanded his innate talent and helped get him admittance in 1799 to the prestigious École des Beaux-Arts, also in Paris.
Ingres first set out to be a history painter. He was opposed to the Romanticism art movement that was popular at the time. Instead, Ingres sought to promote the more academic style of Neoclassicism. In his work, Ingres was a purist. He wanted smooth, clean lines and overall form with rich colors, such as those found in the works of Raphael. Though he created magnificent history paintings, his portraits are what he is most remembered for today.
In 1801, Ingres won the Prix de Rome award that allowed and paid for him to study in Rome, Italy. Due to a shortage of state funds, the trip was postponed. In 1802, Ingres first exhibited at the Paris Salon, greatly increasing his popularity, and providing him with commissioned work to support him and further his career. In 1806, Ingres finally departed for Rome. While in Rome, Ingres continued to exhibit his paintings at the Paris Salon. As his style became more traditional, harkening back to classic art, art critics gave him horrible reviews. They saw Ingres’s work as regressive. Ingres was struck by this and decided to remain in Rome after his patronage from France ended.
Ingres continued to be judged harshly from afar by the critics, particularly those at the Paris Salon. Even with the poor reviews, Ingres continues to receive commissions from the French government. After the fall of Napoleon, Ingres lost the majority of his commissions. Desperate for work, he was forced to draw miniature portraits for tourists in Italy.
In 1824, Ingres’s ambitious history painting, the “Vow of Louis XXIII”, was exhibited at the Paris Salon where it was a huge success. This garnered him much commission work and gave him the courage to return to Paris. In 1834, harsh reviews again forced him to leave Paris. Ingres accepted a position as the director of the Academy of France (in Rome) and moved back to Rome, Italy. After receiving a commission in 1841 from King Louis Philippe I, the King of France, Ingres returned once again to Paris. Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres remained in Paris for the rest of his life. In 1867 at 86 years old, he died of pneumonia. He worked on his art right up until the very end.
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