Lot Essay
En 1818, Ingres peint une première version de La mort de Léonard pour le comte de Blacas en pendant du tableau de Henri IV jouant avec ses enfants, exécuté un an plus tôt. Les deux peintures se trouvent au Petit Palais, à Paris. En 1819, Ingres donna le présent dessin, ainsi que celui représentant La Mort de Léonard (le lot précédent) à son ami Charles Thévenin (1764-1838), directeur de l’Académie de France à Rome. Les deux dessins présentent une composition et un format inversés par rapport aux peintures originales sur lesquelles ils sont basés. Dans ses deux feuilles, Ingres ajoute la figure de la servante qui ne se trouvait pas dans les tableaux. Jean-Charles, le fils graveur de Thévenin réalise deux estampes d’après les présents dessins dont deux épreuves au Musée Ingres à Montauban. Des calques des deux dessins se trouvent dans la même collection (Vigne, op. cit., nos. 1146, 1186, ill.).
In 1818 Ingres painted a first version of The death of Leonardo for the Comte de Blacas as a pendant to Henri IV playing with his children which he has executed the year before. Both paintings are now in the Petit Palais, Paris. In 1819 Ingres gave the present drawing and one representing The death of Leonardo da Vinci (the previous lot) to his friend the artist Charles Thévenin (1764-1838), who was then director of the Académie de France in Rome. Both drawings reverse the compositions of the paintings they are based on and are both in vertical format while the paintings are horizontal. In both drawings, Ingres adds the figure of a female servant which was not included in the original paintings. Thévenin's son, Jean-Charles, an engraver, produced prints after the two drawings of which there are proofs in the Musée Ingres, Montauban. Tracings of both drawing are preserved in the same collection (Vigne, op. cit., nos. 1146, 1186, ill.).
In 1818 Ingres painted a first version of The death of Leonardo for the Comte de Blacas as a pendant to Henri IV playing with his children which he has executed the year before. Both paintings are now in the Petit Palais, Paris. In 1819 Ingres gave the present drawing and one representing The death of Leonardo da Vinci (the previous lot) to his friend the artist Charles Thévenin (1764-1838), who was then director of the Académie de France in Rome. Both drawings reverse the compositions of the paintings they are based on and are both in vertical format while the paintings are horizontal. In both drawings, Ingres adds the figure of a female servant which was not included in the original paintings. Thévenin's son, Jean-Charles, an engraver, produced prints after the two drawings of which there are proofs in the Musée Ingres, Montauban. Tracings of both drawing are preserved in the same collection (Vigne, op. cit., nos. 1146, 1186, ill.).