Marcotte d'Argenteuil
Historical Context
Ingres's Marcotte d'Argenteuil from 1810 is one of his first masterpiece portraits, depicting a Paris forest administrator in the manner of his mature male portraiture — the figure given both social authority and psychological depth through Ingres's combination of precise observation and formal control. Ingres was in Rome at this period, and the portrait was painted for a French official who traveled there on business. The work shows his mature style already fully formed — the smooth enamel-like surface, the precise rendering of fabric and accessories, the face observed with the same attentiveness as the costume — creating an image of bourgeois masculine distinction that would define his male portrait practice for decades.
Technical Analysis
Ingres's portrait technique is already supremely refined, with the face modeled through subtle, luminous tonal transitions and the costume rendered with meticulous precision. The drawing is extraordinarily exact, with every contour expressing both form and character. The composition projects calm authority through the figure's upright posture and direct gaze.
Provenance
Charles-Marie-Jean-Baptiste Marcotte d'Argenteuil [1773-1864], Paris; his son, Joseph Marcotte d'Argenteuil [1831-1893]; his wife, née Paule Aguillon [d. 1922], by 1911;[1] her daughter, Mme. Marcel Pougin de la Maisonneuve, née Elizabeth Marcotte [d. 1939].[2] Private collection, London.[3] (Wildenstein & Co., New York); sold June 1949 to the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, New York;[4] gift 1952 to NGA. [1] Henry Lapauze, _Ingres, sa vie et son oeuvre (1780-1867) d'après documents inédites_, Paris, 1911: 95. [2] Hans Naef, _Die Bildniszeichnungen von J.-A.-D. Ingres_, 5 vols., Bern, 1977-1980: II:503-533, describes the inheritance of the Marcotte family portrait collection as follows: When Marie Legentil died without children in 1920, her entire collection was bequeathed to her niece, daughter of her brother Joseph, Mme Marcel Pougin de la Maisonneuve, née Elizabeth Marcotte. When Mme Pougin de la Maisonneuve died in 1939, she left her collection divided between her two daughters, Geneviève de Laporte and Marie-Louise Chavane, and in trust for her grandson, François-Louis (son of her deceased son). Naef cannot account for the disposition of specific works. [3] Wildenstein & Co. letter, dated 12 January 1961, in NGA curatorial files. [4] The Wildenstein invoice to the Kress Foundation for 16 items, including this painting, is dated 23 June 1949 (copy in NGA curatorial files, see also The Kress Collection Digital Archive, https://kress.nga.gov/Detail/objects/1405).
See It In Person
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