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Lot Essay
The image of Eros in this tondo derives from the artist's Venus Anadyomene, begun in 1807 and completed in 1848 (fig. 1). The architect Jacques-Ignace Hittorf commissioned the present work from Ingres as part of a series of tondi representing the heads of gods and goddesses. In a letter dated September 4, 1864, Hittorf's son Charles thanked the artist for the receipt of the tondi and described each of the paintings. These decorated a room in the Hittorf family residence, located on the now destroyed rue Coquenard, in Paris.
Ingres isolates the figure of Eros from the larger painting; the tondo shows a winsome profile of the young god of love with his rounded child-like features and tousled curls of hair. A portion of his wing and quiver are also depicted. The diagonal vector formed by Eros's hand, profile, and outstretched arm and the asymmetry of this composition lend the work a sense of dynamism.
Other tondi from this group represent Jupiter, Juno, Mars, Minerva, and Venus. In 1898, four of the tondi were given to the Wallraf-Richartz-Museum in Cologne. In 1938, three were sold, one of which is the present work.
*This lot may be exempt from sales tax as set forth in the Sales Tax Notice at the back of the catalogue.
fig. 1
J.-A.-D. Ingres, Venus Anadyomene, 1807-1848, Chantilly, Collection Muse Conde.
Ingres isolates the figure of Eros from the larger painting; the tondo shows a winsome profile of the young god of love with his rounded child-like features and tousled curls of hair. A portion of his wing and quiver are also depicted. The diagonal vector formed by Eros's hand, profile, and outstretched arm and the asymmetry of this composition lend the work a sense of dynamism.
Other tondi from this group represent Jupiter, Juno, Mars, Minerva, and Venus. In 1898, four of the tondi were given to the Wallraf-Richartz-Museum in Cologne. In 1938, three were sold, one of which is the present work.
*This lot may be exempt from sales tax as set forth in the Sales Tax Notice at the back of the catalogue.
fig. 1
J.-A.-D. Ingres, Venus Anadyomene, 1807-1848, Chantilly, Collection Muse Conde.