Book Description

Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres dominated French painting for much of the nineteenth century, from his emergence as the leading student of Jacques-Louis David and winner in 1801 of the prestigious Rome Prize, to his death in 1867. A champion of classicism and a devotee of Raphael and Poussin, Ingres's conviction that color should serve elegant line breathed new life into a century-old artistic debate. It was in drawing that Ingres established his legacy; he is considered to be one of the greatest draftsmen of all time. He was a staunch advocate of history painting, yet his genius is most evident in his sensitive portraits and luscious nudes. His intentional drawing "faults"-the ambiguous relationship of a mirrored reflection to a sitter, the inscrutable hinge of a shoulder to an arm, or an unlikely ruffle of fingers and cocked wrist-link Ingres's painting to some of the most audaciously expressive innovations of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, inc!luding those of Degas, Cézanne, Matisse, and Picasso.

In this comprehensive, lavishly illustrated volume Georges Vigne examines Ingres's artistic life and brings together a staggering number of drawings, studies, and compositions. Guided by careful scrutiny of drawings and documents, Vigne reappraises deep-rooted assumptions and offers a wealth of candid insights on issues such as Ingres's faithful studio assistants, his official commissions that could weave in and out of political regimes, the legendary rivalries with Delacroix and the Romantics, and the curious motivation behind Ingres's seemingly endless line of copies and revisions of his earlier compositions.

Finally, as an indispensable resource to scholars, this volume reproduces, with Vigne's methodical transcriptions and annotations, the valuable pages of the notebooks in which Ingres listed and referred to his paintings.

This authoritative volume on Ingres is also the most complete monograph on any artist of his generation and a valuable chronicle of the man behind the last great studio in the classical tradition. ... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (1)

Classical portraiture at its best
If you have the slightest interest in portraiture and/or classical art, this inexpensive book , along with others in the Dover art Library series, is a must for your collection. Ingres is arguably one of the greatest portraitist ever and the reproductions in this book are a testament to that. Unlike the works of many of his contemporaries , "Romanticists", Ingres was a Classicist in the strictest sense of the word, as evident in these drawings and especially in his paintings. Although i am more an admirer of the style of such painters as Sargent, whose looser approach is the anthisesis of Ingres' careful, detailed, deliberate, yet graceful style, i still enjoyed studying these masterpieces in this book of drawings. ... Read more

Amazon.com

It can be argued that haute couture began in the first half of the 19th century; certainly, its vagaries were recorded for posterity by French portrait painter Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres in a wealth of richly detailed studies. For the fashion historian, Ingres's works offer visual insight into the burgeoning consumerism of the time and portray the men and, particularly, the women of society resplendent in their luxurious fabrics, intricate jewelry, and lavish accessories.

Aileen Ribeiro, head of dress at London's Courtauld Institute of Art, has written the exemplary Ingres in Fashion, in which she painstakingly describes Ingres's depiction of fashion as it reflects identity and status in mid-19th-century France. Ingres's dual obsessions--the precise and sumptuous reproductions of modish figures such as his 1853 portrait Josephine-Eleonore-Marie-Pauline de Galard de Brassac de Bearn, Princesse de Broglie (a name as voluminous as the costume she wears) and the sensual, almost fantasy-like odalisques of Le Bain Turc (1862)--are amply represented and scrutinized here in more than 150 illustrations. A fascinating social, historical, and fashion document. --Catherine Taylor ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Wonderful imagery, but..............................
This is a great book if you can ignore the text. The quality of the pictures is superb and there are plenty of close ups which is invaluable for someone interested in Ingres' technique from an artistic point of view. However this book is more of a social commentary on Ingres and the times in which he lived then a straight collection on his works, and it's pretty uncomplimentry about most of the things it covers.
The quality of the reproductions and the helpful close-ups are invaluable for an artist interested in portraiture or Ingres' style, but the actual book seems to be written from the "I know everything about this subject and if I make it look stupid then I make myself look knowledgeable and clever" school of art critics/historians.
0 stars for the author but a definate 5 stars for the artwork. Highly recommended for the serious artist or art lover. I'm really glad I bought it.

Absolutely astounding!
I absolutely had a heart attack when i found this book its so beautiful this is one of my most cherished books its so hard to find these sort of books these days too! ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Favorite Painter!
Always my favorite painter, I was lucky enough to see an exposition of his work at the National Art Gallery in London in 1999 and his more famous works on constant display the Louvre in 2000. While his historical and allegorical paintings are impressive, his talent with portraiture is unmatched. I am particularly struck by the detailed imagery. It feels like you are looking at a photography, the realism is so intense. Yet as the book demonstrates, numerous studies were done before each painting, trying to determine how best to capture the subject.

The book is a large format, with numerous full color, full plate images. Personally, I did not find the accompanying essays particularly interesting but thought that the notes on each specific work more compelling. The choices of artwork included in the book is primarily restricted to portraits, but not only paintings but paper drawings and minatures also.

An important and seminal contribution to art history studies
Portraits By Ingres: Image Of An Epoch showcases odalisques and dramatic historical scenes painted by Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres (1780-1867) and are justifiably considered to rank among the master-pieces of nineteenth-century French art. The superbly reproduced paintings are enhanced with informative contributions on Ingres' life and work by Philip Conisbee, Rebecca A. Rabinow, Christopher Riopelle, Robert Rosenblum, Andrew Carrington Shelton, Gary Tinterow, and Georges Vigne, as well as drawing entries by Hans Naef. With its photographs of the artist and his sitters (and caricatures from contemporary journals) Portraits By Ingres is a seminal, scholarly, beautifully presented, landmark publication that will secure Ingres in his proper place for students of art history.

The Book About Ingres You Have Been Waiting For!
I have been waiting for a first-rate work on Ingres portraits for many years and now it is finally here! This book is a MUST HAVE for anyone who admires Ingres. The book was published in conjunction with the wonderful exhibition of Ingres portraits which played in London, New York, and Washington DC. I attended the exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum in New York and this book does justice to what I saw in person. Since not every work of art was seen at each venue, the book provides reproductions of several works which were not made available for viewing in the United States (such as the great Rothchild portrait). I have the books on Ingres by both Robert Rosenblum and Georges Vigne. Although both of those books were good, this new book surpasses them due to the quality of the writing and the superb reproductions. There are enlightening essays by both the exhibition curators together with outside experts such as Rosenblum and Vigne. The reproductions are plentiful and very good quality. In addition to the oil paintings, there are dozens of high quality reproductions of the superb portrait drawings. Each portrait is accompanied by an essay together with the provenance and exhibition history of the work. The book also deals with the thorny issue of collaborators. Although the book is fairly expensive, it is well worth the money. Perhaps one day we will have similar books published on other great portrait painters such as Holbein, Moroni, and Bronzino. Anyone in the museum or publishing world listening?

Ingres was the master of line and sensuality
I saw the exhibit in NY today, and had a chance to review the book as well. It's been a long time waiting for a book of this magnitude depicting these great portraits.The uncluttered detail of this neo-classical giant is staggering.His ability to paint cloth is incredible. He and Sargent rank as my personal favorites. His teacher David would be proud to see his treatment of the human being with pristine classical beauty combined with personal insights into an individuals character. His later portraits including the last two self portraits reveal the soul of this devoted artist. The volume traces fashion and history, and the many greats he depicted. Essays are excellent. Ingres is beauty truth and human elegance.

superb
A foundational link in the chain of Masters whom had passed the realist/ impressionist atelier skills down from generation to generation. Ingres' portraits are all here, showing just how prolific one can be when consumed by the art. Fantastic volume- I hope to get to NY for the show. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Good information on Ingres with fantastic colorplates.
Whether you have a casual interest in the life and/or works of Ingres or you are a dedicated admirer, you are sure to find yourself enjoying this book. There are approximately 40 pages of text mingled with relevant b/w illustrations, some by Ingres, some by a variety of other artists including Picasso, Raphael, Poussin, Delacroix, Courbet, and Matisse. The author compares Ingres to Picasso because of his ability to take on many forms in his artwork while remaining true to himself. He also discusses the tension between Ingres and Delacroix over visible brushstrokes and the use of color. Ingres is described in this book as being "one of the greatest draftsmen of all time" and it is easy to understand why when examining the colorplates. There are 151 illustrations in all with 40 plates in color. Included in the colorplate section are _Bonaparte as First Consul_, _Bather of Valpincon_, _Oedipus and the Sphinx_, _The Turkish Bath_, _The Dream of Ossian_, and _Grande Odalisque_, among others. Each colorplate comes with an extensive commentary by the author that includes historical background and an analysis of the work's artistic merits. This is absolutely a great buy for *anyone* interested in Ingres. ... Read more

Book Description

The graphic work of one of the most accomplished 19th-century French draftsmen is collected in this gallery display of Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres's portraits, sketches, and unfinished compositions. Prepatory drawings of such works as Oedipus and the Sphinx and the Turkish Bath as well as famous protraits of the Forestier, Stamaty, and Paganini families are included. The particularities of Ingres's vision and his drive to perfect his works are illustrated in the thousands of sketches he discarded in pursuit of an artistic ideal. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Impressive presentation of a master's work
There are many books on famous master drawings, such as Ingres. But this Drawing Gallery book is by far the best presenation of drawings I have seen for the price. The clarity and size of each of the many Ingres works provided in this book make it a fascinating insight into the amazing line quality, composition, and depth of emotion captured in his subjects. I highly recommend it to anyone wanting to explore his drawings. ... Read more

Book Description

Artist, Filmmaker, Poet, Surrealist, Man Ray was an unusually versatile artist, a trait not limited to his studio.As a lover, he was associated with some of the most famous and talked about women of his day.Some artists prefer to conceal their sexual partners, but Man Ray was the complete opposite.His paintings and, especially, his photographs are the journal of his sexual and emotional development traced her in this min-biography. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

mistake
Why is a description of Man Ray put into a description of a book about Ingres?

will the real book please stand up? ... Read more

Book Description

Ingres Then, and Now is an innovative study of one of the best-known French artists of the nineteenth century, Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres. Adam Rifkin reevaluates Ingres' work in the context of a variety of literary, musical and visual cultures which are normally seen as alien to him.

Rifkin offers insightful interpretations of Ingres' early work, and follows the artist's image in the popular cultures of the twentieth century. Approaching Ingres' paintings as symptomatic of the commodity cultures of nineteenth-century Paris, he draws the artist away from his familiar association with the Academy and the Salon, and instead situates Ingres in the world of the Parisian Arcades. Finally, the book examines Ingres' importance for the great French art critic Jean Cassou, and makes a bold, contemporary gay appropriation of his work.

Ingres Then, and Now transforms the popular image we have of Ingres. Rifkin argues that the figure of the artist is neither fixed in time or place--there is neither an essential man named Ingres, nor a singular body of his work--but rather is an effect of many complex and overlapping historical forces. Lavishly illustrated with over 50 images, this compelling study will transform our understanding of Ingres and his cultural impact. ... Read more

Book Description

This provocative book-the first full-length feminist and sociohistorical study of Ingres`s art-explores the meanings behind the fluid, distorted, and sensualized bodies that populate his work.Ockman identifies a disturbing equation between the female body and deformity in neoclassical and modernist aesthetics.She extends historical analysis to contemporary debates about representations of the body, concluding that women artists today have appropriated the pleasure and horror evoked by Ingres`s eroticized bodies for their own ends. ... Read more