INGRES. Neoclassical painter in the early 1800s.
Ingres considered himself a romantic painter, but his legacy became portraiture. many art historians see his work (and I agree!) as a precursor of modern art, influencing Matisse and Picasso.
a bit of a nerdy disclaimer…At the time, in France, art was mostly divided into factions, with the Poussinistes, named after the French Baroque painter Nicolas Poussin (more on him later), arguing that the form of the subject deserved the most attention (and that color was merely decorative). The Rubenistes, named after the Flemish master Peter Paul Rubens (we’ve looked at him a bit, but more later too), prioritized color. They argued that color was paramount because the point of art was to strive towards recreating nature itself. At the same time, the Poussinistes believed that the point of art was to take a subject in one’s mind and recreate its form using nature as a mere reference point. So yeah, big beefs, as always, in the art world.
Ingres was steeped in old school, academic tradition always centered on the study of the nude and classical forms. he called himself a “history painter” which I really quite love. he feuded with artists constantly, insisting that paintings needed to be cleaner, more refined but…quietly was exploring portraiture in a way that defied his more academic studies. despite being rooted firmly in these traditional artistic styles, he found a way to incorporate abstraction into his academic works so that the subjects could achieve the form he desired. even in his portraits he strayed from realism. hands are unnaturally shaped, heads are smaller for certain subjects, and artistic context was considered. its for these reasons that art historians credit him with paving the way for Manet, Monet, Degas, and of course Matisse and Picasso (Picasso straight up admitted to copying his composition of a few portraits).
Super quirky fact… Ingres was a dope violinist who likely would have had a really successful career as a musician. in fact, to this day, the French phrase for having a second string to one’s bow is a “violin d’ingres.”
