Portrait of Madame Paul Meurice, née Palmyre Granger by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres

Portrait of Madame Paul Meurice, née Palmyre Granger

Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres · 1840

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“Stop to appreciate the exquisite detail and sensitive rendering in this graphite portrait. It's a testament to the power of a simple pencil to capture a sitter's presence with remarkable elegance.”

ABOUT THIS WORK

In this graphite portrait, Palmyre Granger, Madame Paul Meurice, gazes out with a serene expression, her head slightly tilted. Her hair is pulled back, revealing an elegant neck and shoulders draped in a simple, high-necked gown. The artist captures the delicate texture of her skin and the soft folds of her clothing with remarkable precision, using graphite to create a sense of volume and depth. This drawing, created around 1840, exemplifies the detailed draftsmanship prevalent in the Neoclassical period, focusing on ideal forms and clear lines. The subtle shading and careful rendering of light and shadow give the portrait a timeless quality, inviting a close look at the sitter's composed demeanor and the artistry of the drawing itself.

DETAILS
Artist
Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres
Date
1840
Medium
Graphite on wove paper
Location
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Dimensions
Sheet: 22 × 17 5/8 in. (55.9 × 44.8 cm)
Collection
Drawings and Prints
Credit line
Purchase, Harris Brisbane Dick, Louis V. Bell, and Harry G. Sperling Funds, The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, and Leon D. and Debra R. Black Gift, 2016
ART MOVEMENTS
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What to Notice

Five details hide in plain sight. Here’s where to look.

Portrait of Madame Paul Meurice, née Palmyre Granger
01

The delicate lines defining the sitter's features and the contour of her face.

02

The subtle shading that gives volume to her hair and the fabric of her dress.

03

The way light catches the bridge of her nose and the curve of her cheek.

04

The intricate details of her high collar, suggesting lace or fine embroidery.

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THE ARTIST

Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres

1780–1867 · France

Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, a French Neoclassical painter, masterfully blended academic tradition with expressive distortions, influencing modernists like Matisse and Picasso.

Read Ingres’s full story
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Beyond Ingres and Romanticism: works from the same years, and from the other movements Portrait of Madame Paul Meurice, née Palmyre Granger belongs to.

The Combat of the Giaour and Hassan Same movement · Academic art The Combat of the Giaour and Hassan Eugène Delacroix · 1826 · Art Institute of Chicago The Estuary Farm Same era · 1820s–1850s The Estuary Farm Léon-Victor Dupré · 1831 · Art Institute of Chicago Head of a Child Same movement · Neoclassicism Head of a Child Jacques-Louis David · 1768 · The Metropolitan Museum of Art Stormy Sea Breaking on a Shore Same era · 1820s–1850s Stormy Sea Breaking on a Shore J. M. W. Turner · 1840 · Yale Center for British Art The Entombment of Christ Same movement · Academic art The Entombment of Christ Caravaggio · 1600 · Pinacoteca Vaticana Hamlet and Horatio in the Graveyard Same era · 1820s–1850s Hamlet and Horatio in the Graveyard Eugène Delacroix · 1839 · Department of Paintings of the Louvre Drunkenness of Noah Same movement · Academic art Drunkenness of Noah Michelangelo · 1509 · Sistine Chapel Young Woman Same era · 1820s–1850s Young Woman Jean-François Millet · 1844 · Art Institute of Chicago
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