- 159
Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres
Description
- Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres
- A sheet of studies for a seated Julius Caesar: a separate study for his right arm and part of the torso, and his right and left hand
- Pencil on tracing paper;
signed lower left: Ingres and bears old inscription on a strip cut from the original mount, glued to the backing: à mon ami Henri Gerbod. souvenir affectueux Haro/première pensée de Mr Ingres pour le portrait de César/pour le livre, (Histoire de César par Napoléon III.) - 9 1/4 x 7 3/8 inches
Provenance
present by him to Henri Gerbod;
Sale, Paris, Palais Galliera, 30 November 1971, lot 1;
Comtesse de Forceville, until 1972,
when acquired by the present owner
Literature
Condition
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.
Catalogue Note
This same composition is also known from a more or less contemporaneous painting by Ingres, signed and dated 1864, which originally belonged to Napoleon III, and was rediscovered some years ago in a private collection in Geneva (fig. 1; see Literature). The painting was described in the first monograph on the artist by Henry Delaborde as a grisaille, but is clearly executed in full color.2 Although Neal Fiertag thought that this painting predated the project for the intended frontispiece3, Georges Vigne believes that it is actually a subsequent version of the subject, a theory that would also fit with the date that is inscribed on the painting.4 Ingres received the commission for the frontispiece during the winter of 1861-62, and by July his proposal was already presented to the Emperor, although the composition subsequently underwent radical modification.
The elaborate evolution of Ingres’s design, through three main phases, is documented by a group of about twenty drawings preserved in the Musée Ingres at Montauban,5 as well by a drawing in a private collection, Geneva, and one which appeared on the art market in 1983.6 The artist's first idea was to depict Caesar standing, holding a staff and an orb,7 an image that he soon modified into a three-quarters length portrait in a Renaissance style.8 Then Ingres moving on to a more sculptural depiction of the Emperor, still three-quarters length but placed against a roundel and surrounded by a classical architectural setting.9 Next, the design became even more stylised, sculptural and classicising, with Caesar shown in the form of a classical bust, in front of a circular niche surmounted by a star and supported by a plinth that is dominated by a large eagle holding a tablet.10 Then, finally, Ingres returned to a much more informal, naturalistic half-length portrait format.
Our sheet must fall close to the end of the whole complex evolution of the composition. At this point Ingres has already made the transition to the final half-length seated image, and is concentrating on details such as the exact position of the right hand holding a scroll, which he draws here three times. There are, though, still some differences from the final painting, most notably the form of the chair, and the placement of the sword, which is on the opposite side of the image from where it would ultimately end up.
The transformation of the image in its final version is very significant iconographically. In the hard-won final version Ingres seems, as Fiertag has noted, to have abandoned entirely the concept of an official representation of Julius Caesar as a victorious general, choosing instead to portray him in a more benign role as a legislator, wearing a crown of laurel and dressed as a senator. The implied - and surely desired - connection between Caesar and Napoleon I is here abundantly clear, and was also emphasized in the introduction to the Histoire.. written by Napoleon's nephew, Napoleon III.11
1 Vol. I, between pp. 214 and 215
2 G. Vigne, Dessins d'Ingres, Catalogue raisonné des dessins du musée de Montauban, Paris 1995, p. 432
3 N. Fiertag, loc. cit., pp. 7-8
4 G. Vigne, loc. cit., p. 432
5 Ibid., pp. 432-435, nos. 2444-2463
6 N. Fiertag, loc. cit., respectively p. 7, fig. 5, p. 9, fig. 6
7 Montauban inv. 867. 2610; G. Vigne, loc. cit., no. 2448
8 Montauban inv. 867. 2619; G. Vigne, loc. cit., no. 2449
9 Montauban inv. nos. 867. 2611-13-20-21; G. Vigne, loc. cit., nos. 2444-2447
10 Montauban inv. 867. 2617; G. Vigne, op. cit., no. 2451
11 Fiertag, loc. cit., pp. 11-12