Ingres

Product Description

The most important & influential painter of the French Neoclassical period. This new monograph explores the career of Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres (1780-1867), one of the most important artists of the nineteenth-century Neoclassical period. The lifetime of the painter spans one of the most tumultuous periods in the history of the artist's native France. Born less than nine years before the storming of the Bastille, the painter would eventually bear witness to three revolutions & the rise & fall (and eventual resurrection) of a rapid succession of monarchical, republican, & imperial regimes. Like many of his contemporaries, Ingres considered history paintings to be the most exalted form of art, with portraiture a lesser genre. Even during his lifetime, however, tastes were changing, & while icons like his Turkish Bath & the Grande Odalisque are still highly regarded, Ingres is most admired today for his innovative & vivid portraits, which transcend time in their physical & psychological beauty. In this insightful & unbiased survey, Andrew Shelton provides the reader with a comprehensive portrait of the seventy-year career of this most celebrated artist & discusses all of the artist's key paintings & drawings.