Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History


    • Princesse de Broglie, 1851–53
    Jean–Auguste–Dominique Ingres (French, 1780–1867)
    Oil on canvas; 47 3/4 x 35 3/4 in. (121.3 x 90.8 cm)
    Robert Lehman Collection, 1975 (1975.1.186)

    Although portraiture was a genre he came to dislike, Ingres depicted many of the leading personalities of his day. This painting of Joséphine Eléonore Marie Pauline de Galard de Brassacede Béarn, princesse de Broglie, is his last commissioned portrait of a female sitter. A member of the most cultivated circles of the Second Empire, the princess was renowned for her great beauty as well as her reserve, both qualities captured in this portrait. Ingres' facility for brilliantly transcribing the material quality of objects is seen in the rich satin and lace of the sitter's gown, the silk damask upholstery, and the richly embroidered evening scarf draped across the chair. Also rendered in exquisite detail are her sumptuous jewels, which include the fashionable antique-inspired pendant around her neck.

    The princesse de Broglie died of consumption at the age of thirty-five. Her bereaved husband kept this portrait behind draperies in perpetual tribute to her memory. It remained in the family until shortly before it was acquired by Robert Lehman and retains the original, ornately carved frame that Ingres himself selected.

    This work of art also appears on Connections: The Ideal Woman

    Related


    This work has been published in the Museum's Bulletin or Journal. These articles may or may not represent the most current scholarship.
  • Naef, Hans and Claus Virch. "Ingres to M. Leblanc: An Unpublished Letter." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 29, no. 4 (December, 1970).
    JSTOR | PDF
  • Tinterow, Gary, ed., and Philip Conisbee, drawing entries by Hans Naef, with contributions by Philip Conisbee, Rebecca A. Rabinow, Christopher Riopelle, Robert Rosenblum, Andrew Carrington Shelton, Gary Tinterow, and Georges Vigne. Portraits by Ingres: Image of an Epoch
  • Tinterow, Gary, Charlotte Hale, and Eric Bertin. "'Portraits by Ingres, Image of an Epoch': Reflections, Technical Observations, Addenda, and Corrigenda." Metropolitan Museum Journal, Vol. 35 (2000).
    JSTOR | PDF
    • On view: Gallery 957
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    • Princesse de Broglie, 1851–53
    Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres (French, 1780–1867)
    Oil on canvas; 47 3/4 x 35 3/4 in. (121.3 x 90.8 cm)
    Robert Lehman Collection, 1975 (1975.1.186)

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