Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres 17801867

1
Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres (1780-1867)

• Ingres (pronounced Ang) was born in a small
  town in France.
• His father was an artist.
• He had to drop out of school and was always
  ashamed that he did not have a formal education.
• His father took him to an art school so that he
  could learn to be a painter.

2

• In this self-portrait he is 24 years old.
• What can you tell about him in this self
  portrait?
• How do you think he is feeling?

3

• In this self-portrait he is 74 years old.

4

• How has he changed?

5

• Ingres is most famous for his portraits.
• He painted self-portraits like the ones we just
  saw, portraits of his friends, and of famous
  people, too.
• What do you see in this portrait?

6

• Ingres was a perfectionist. He believed that a
  great artist never showed a brush stroke.
• How do you think that belief affected his
  painting style?

7

• Some people believe that Ingres was the best
  illustrator of the fashion of the times.
• Try and see all the details he includes in this
  portrait.

8

• Although many people thought Ingres was a great
  artist, his style was often criticized.
• What do you think the criticism was?

9

• Look at the length of the fingers and the
  neck. Do they look real?
• At the time people wanted portraits to be real,
  like photographs.
• Ingres wanted to make the women in his
  portraits look elegant and graceful so he made
  their hands, necks, backs longer. He was
  criticized for doing something new.
• Do you think it is right to criticize
  something just because it is new or different?
  Why? Why not?

10

• This is perhaps his most famous painting. When
  he painted it, he was criticized for making her
  back too long. One critic said that he had added
  three extra vertebrae into her back.
• What do you think?

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• Do you like Ingress work?
• Why or why not?