Self-Portrait Aged 24

Self-Portrait Aged 24
Artist	Jean-Auguste-Dominque Ingres
Year	1804, revised c. 1850/1851
Medium	Oil on canvas
Dimensions	34 in x 27.5 in
Owner	Musée Condé, Chantilly

Self-Portrait Aged 24 is an oil on canvas painting by the French Artist Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres, originally produced in 1804. The most common rendition of Self-Portrait is currently located at the Musée Condé, Chantilly in France.^[1]

The painting depicts Ingres standing in front of an easel with a canvas, holding chalk in his right hand, with an oversized brown cloak resting on his upper back. Self-Portrait Aged 24 is Ingres's earliest self-portrait, and was reworked between the years of 1804 and 1851.^[1]

Ingres's specialty in portraiture showcases itself in Self-Portrait Aged 24 by his defined lines and distinction between dark and light. Like many of his paintings, the first version of Self-Portrait in 1804 received harsh criticisms, and his art style was never well received.^[2]

Ingres first painted Self-Portrait Aged 24 after he won the Prix de Rome as an aspiring artist, when his sense of identity in the art world was at a peak. However, the work was harshly criticized at the exhibition. The painting has since been reworked by artists including Marie-Anne-Julie Forrestier, Charles Marville, Ingres himself, and Gustave Héquet.

The work represents Ingres' coming of age as a man in French society and an aspiring artist. The completion of this work was at the beginning of the defining period when Ingres wanted to distinguish himself as a portraitist. Ingres tended to focus on classical tradition, so he chose to depict himself in a traditional artistic setting, standing before an easel in a cloak.

During the period of the revolution, Ingres was responsible for setting his own career forward by taking risks of entering the Salon.^[3] By using formal poses such as the one seen in Self-Portrait Aged 24, Ingres was marking his entry to the public sphere, implementing his learnings from Jacques-Louis David.^[3] Ingres tried to be original in his own way, but this was one of his main criticisms at the Salon where he became the center of stylistic curiosity for art critics who were focused on paintings that conformed with the political standing of France at the time.^[3] Self-Portrait Aged 24 shows his artistic break from tradition, and as a result has many alterations after combatting art critics at the 1806 Paris Salon.^[3]

1804: The original version of Self-Portrait Aged 24 exhibited at the 1806 Paris Salon. This painting was met with disheartening remarks from critics, and as a result Ingres made the resentment-centered claim that he would not exhibit again with these kinds of judges.^[4] Early portrait features that have remained stagnant include Ingres as the main figure, the head turned three quarters to the front, and the right hand holding a piece of chalk.^[4] The 1804 version does not currently exist today.

1807: Ingres was engaged to French painter Marie-Anne-Julie Forrestier, and she was the first to make a copy of Self-Portrait Aged 24. M. Forestier's copy depicts the same figure, but the left hand is extended towards the easel holding a white handkerchief, embroidered with a red "I" in the corner and faded red detailing.^[5] Ingres is depicted to be erasing an empty canvas with the handkerchief, a style that was widely criticized.^[5] The coat on Ingres is a heavy, lighter gray colored jacket and shows that Ingres's left arm is not in the left sleeve. The piece of chalk is slightly dulled compared to later versions. His facial features are more serious and his face is thinned out. Ingres has a wedding band on his left middle finger to symbolize his engagement to Forestier.

1850: Currently in existence is Charles Marville black and white photograph of the 1804 Self-Portrait.^[5] This photograph was taken only months before Ingres made his own revisions to the 1804 painting.^[5] The photograph contains the white outlined sketch of Gilibert, which was previously existent in the 1804 version and removed in Forestier's version.^[5] Scholar Louise Burrough of the Metropolitan believes that Marville's photograph of Self-Portrait may actually be a photograph of Forestier's 1807 version rather than Ingres' 1804 version, but is not confirmed.^[4] Ingres's response to critics on Forestier's 1807 version about the erasure of a blank canvas was to add the outline of Jean-Pierre-Francois Gilibert,^[4] a childhood friend from Montauban,^[6] and scholars involved in Portraits by Ingres: Images of an Epoch saw this response as a memorial.^[5] However, after the Marville photograph, there were rumors that Ingres swapped the white outline of Gilibert for the clutching gesture of the left hand. Ingres added the sketch to combat criticism.^[4]

1851: After Marville's photograph, Ingres reworked his original version of Self-Portrait Aged 24, and this painting is currently held at the Musée Condé, Chantilly.^[5] This rendition is often referred to as Self-Portrait at the Age of Twenty-four.^[4], but the two names refer to the same general painting. Tests by researchers at Centre de recherche et de restauration des musees de France discuss the high possibility that the 1804 version of Self-Portrait is underneath this current surface, meaning the two versions are on the same canvas.^[1] This new painting invites the question of why Ingres didn't start a completely new canvas due to the extensive differences between the 1804 and 1851 version.^[5] Ingres's left hand is placed on the left side of his chest and the handkerchief has been completely removed. The left hand is being held against Ingres' chest, introducing added speculation about the mystery and wonder of Self-Portrait.^[7] Andrew Carrington Shelton infers that the left hand is clutching an item related to Gilibert, who died around the years of Ingres' final revisions.^[1] Additional edits made by Ingres himself include straightening his neck and rounding out his facial features. Ingres raised the collar on his neck, and changed the heavy jacket to the brown velvet-collared carrick, an overcoat more similar to a cape.

1861: Madame Gustave Héquet painted the Portrait of Ingres as a Young Man under the supervision of Ingres himself.^[1] The medium is still oil on canvas, and has the same dimensions as the original. The semi-visible chalk outline of Gilibert is one addition in Héquet's rendition. Ingres’s left hand remains holding a washcloth against the chalkboard easel, however it is not personalized and more generic to being used for art.^[1]

Additionally, the wedding ring on his left middle finger is missing. The chalk has a pointier edge, and the viewer can see the stand of the easel in the bottom right hand corner. The velvet carrick-type overcoat remains, but is closer to a black color, with the left arm in the left sleeve. The liveliness and youth of Ingres’ face and cheekbones has been maintained in this version.     

Early portrait features that have remained stagnant include Ingres as the figure, the head turned three quarters to the front, and the right hand holding a piece of chalk.^[8] The 1851 Chantilly rendition of Self-Portrait holds a variety of emotions and deeper thoughts than just Ingres standing at an easel. We can see that his hand is cusped as if he is holding something towards his hard, something of deeper meaning. Shellington makes the case that the void in Ingres' hands represents Gilibert and how he secretly holds onto a romantic love for him in a less obvious way than his portrait outline on the canvas.^[9] The focus of this painting is on the facial expression of the figure, and Ingres has used a very neutral background as to not distract the viewer. Ingres' hair is done nicely, and exudes a sense of maturity as a professional artist in French society.

The textures and depth created by Ingres create a sense of realism in the portrait. The stance of the figure represents elegance and class, key styles Ingres incorporates into most of his portraits.The simplicity of Ingres at the canvas makes the portrait a thought-provoking piece into what his motive is. The youth in the figure can be seen in the rosacia in his cheeks, and the way that Ingres used defined lines to make the figure pop from the background. Light and shadow adds depth to Ingres' face, and he is positioned slightly to the right with a neutral background.^[10]

Ingres’ focus spanned many areas, including privatized lives, adulteration and a desire for order.^[11] Self-Portrait represents each of these areas where he tends to thrive.^[11] The figure in the painting represents Ingres as a young adult, coming into himself as a member of the greater society and the neoclassical art movement. Ingres uses this approach to achieve self-representation, where artists tend to emphasize their best qualities.

Ingres’s focus on the beauty of young adults^[12] is shown here in his self portrait by the youthful yet mature facial structure of the figure. One of his unique skills was the power of contour^[12], and how defined lines can not only help focus the viewers eyes on the figure, but can blend their face in a way that shows the power between light and dark. Ingres’ brushstroke style creates a surface that strongly resembles human flesh.^[13] His use of defining lines help to sensualize the body and face.^[12]

Scholar John Loughery makes the distinction that Ingres’s use of ‘stationary poses is the implicit fact of relentless change’.^[11] Ingres focuses his canvas on one moment. ^[11] Neoclassical techniques Ingres implements include the focus on lines to separate the figure from the background and contours of Ingres’ face and their definition, which also connects his dedication to precision with realism. There is a sense of control in Ingres' body positioning.

• List of paintings by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres

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