Ruggiero Rescuing Angelica

Ingres's Ruggiero Rescuing Angelica of 1819 translates Ariosto's Orlando Furioso into a composition of monumental elegance, depicting the knight Ruggiero on his hippogriff arriving to free Angelica from the sea monster. Ingres treated the chivalric epic with the same Raphaelesque clarity he brought to classical subjects, constructing an ideal feminine beauty of crystalline purity in Angelica's marble-white nude form. The painting marked his break with the academic history painting tradition toward a more sensual idealism. The smooth, enamel-like surface and precise contours reflect his admiration for Greek vase painting and Raphael's decorative schemes.

Ingres's extraordinary draughtsmanship renders the nude Angelica with the precise, sinuous contours that characterize his style. The contrast between the idealized female figure and the fantastical elements of the hippogriff and sea monster creates a unique tension between classical form and Romantic fantasy.