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Lot Essay
This drawing, executed at the end of a period of three difficult years for the artist, represents one of Emperor Napoléon's generals, one of the heroes of the Grande Armée. Ingres drew this veteran against a backdrop view of Rome, a city which Napoléon had tried to rule and in which Ingres had spent many years as a young artist trying to build his own reputation as a history painter. Both sitter and artist lost much from the fall of the French Empire; the General was at leisure to travel to Rome, and Ingres, who had lost many of his patrons, found a most welcome financial reward for his draughtsmanship.
Louis-Etienne Dulong de Rosnay was born on 12 December 1780, the son of a country doctor in the village of Rosnay in the region of Champagne, in the east of France. He was of a slightly younger generation than Napoléon and most of the other marechaux d'empire who, by the time Dulong could establish himself on the battlefield, had already claimed the highest ranks in the state. Yet, to any ambitious young man, the army still remained the best way to secure a brilliant career. After being attached to the foreign office for a year in 1798, the time when he met the members of the Stamaty family, which Ingres drew in 1818, Dulong enrolled in the army in 1799 and became lieutenant and captain within a year. He was promoted to the rank of major in 1807 and colonel two years later. In 1813 he received the title of baron d'Empire. Such a brillant promotion was, however, not obtained without cost. The General lost the use of his arm during the battle of Austerlitz and wore a sling for the rest of his life. A medical report in 1810 lists thirteen wounds, all the source of permanent pain.
Two acts of particular bravery are associated with Dulong's name: on 14 October 1800, the young Captain was left in command of the city of Pesaro in Italy with only eleven French soldiers and a few local patriots. For nearly two months he fought against the Austrian army which besieged the city. He surrendered on December 1800 with a total contingent of forteen men. In 1808 Major Dulong was in Portugal with Maréchal Soult when he was asked to secure a bridge which was vital to the retreat of the army. In the worst weather conditions, Dulong succeeded in saving the bridge of Puento Nuevo which the British were already pulling down. Dulong headed the commandos himself and surprised the enemies by night recovering control over the bridge.
In 1813 Général Dulong was asked to serve in the personal guard of the Emperor. Napoléon disliked being surrounded by wounded soldiers, and it must have been a great mark of esteem bestowed upon the veteran to make such an exception for him. General Dulong did not, however, come back to the Emperor during the Cent jours. The restored Bourbon monarchy was keen on securing the support of the army and Général Dulong was created a count, a Grand Officier de la Légion d'Honneur and a lieutenant-commandant of the body guard of King Louis XVIII. He took part in the coronation of King Charles X and received the order of Saint Louis. At the end of his career he was made a gentilhomme de la Chambre du Roi. The later part of his life was, however, far less glorious and a physical ordeal. The pains he suffered from his wounds were such that the General finally committed suicide on 20 May 1828.
Ingres' portrait conveys the strength of character and courage of the sitter. The elegance and ease of the General's pose masks the veteran's infirmities. The uniform takes the eye away from the tense expression of the officer's face. The attention to details within the drawing achieves a psychological sense of balance between the decorum of an official portrait and the very humane depiction of a veteran still imbued with the dreams and disillusionment of the fall of the Empire. It is frequently said that Ingres drew portraits because of a lack of other commissions; for three years, between 1815 and 1818, it was his sole source of income. Indeed, later in life Ingres was interested to diminish that side of his production. What is indisputable, however, is that Ingres devoted a great deal of care to his portrait drawings, polishing a medium which has now become the hallmark of his genius.
Ingres drew portraits throughout his life. From 1824 on, he did not accept commissions for portraits from clients but executed them as gifts for his most intimate friends. During most of the time of the artist's stay in Rome, Ingres practised the genre in a manner which is as obsessive in its search for creativity as the many studies for his painted compositions are a reflection on his quest for perfection. Long before his French patrons had withdrawn their support from the artist, Ingres had practised the art of portraiture. Large sheets, such as the portrait of the family of Lucien Bonaparte, executed in 1815, when the French where still in power, or the group portrait of the Stamaty family from 1816, now at the Louvre, or the present drawing executed in the same year, reveal that Ingres was particularly ambitious in this medium. In the artist's mind such works were undoubtedly a challenge to the traditional oil portraits. It is important to notice that most of these elaborate sheets were engraved just like official portraits: for example, the portrait of the Cardinal de Pressigny was executed in such detail that Ingres engraved it himself. In 1850, this ambitious approach to the art of portrait drawings was still evident in the large group portrait of Edouard Gatteaux's family, assembled from various engravings after earlier drawings, yet retouched by the artist himself. It was sold in these Rooms on 6 July 1987, lot 55.
In 1827, a lithograph was made, based on the present drawing, by Atala Stamaty, one of Ingres' most highly gifted pupils in Rome. She was the daughter of Constantin Stamaty, the first employer of the young Etienne Dulong. The connection between Général Dulong and the Stamaty family was therefore a longstanding friendship. It was through Général Dulong that Ingres met the Stamaty family, and it was long believed that the general had married Constantin Stamaty's widow.
Louis-Etienne Dulong de Rosnay was born on 12 December 1780, the son of a country doctor in the village of Rosnay in the region of Champagne, in the east of France. He was of a slightly younger generation than Napoléon and most of the other marechaux d'empire who, by the time Dulong could establish himself on the battlefield, had already claimed the highest ranks in the state. Yet, to any ambitious young man, the army still remained the best way to secure a brilliant career. After being attached to the foreign office for a year in 1798, the time when he met the members of the Stamaty family, which Ingres drew in 1818, Dulong enrolled in the army in 1799 and became lieutenant and captain within a year. He was promoted to the rank of major in 1807 and colonel two years later. In 1813 he received the title of baron d'Empire. Such a brillant promotion was, however, not obtained without cost. The General lost the use of his arm during the battle of Austerlitz and wore a sling for the rest of his life. A medical report in 1810 lists thirteen wounds, all the source of permanent pain.
Two acts of particular bravery are associated with Dulong's name: on 14 October 1800, the young Captain was left in command of the city of Pesaro in Italy with only eleven French soldiers and a few local patriots. For nearly two months he fought against the Austrian army which besieged the city. He surrendered on December 1800 with a total contingent of forteen men. In 1808 Major Dulong was in Portugal with Maréchal Soult when he was asked to secure a bridge which was vital to the retreat of the army. In the worst weather conditions, Dulong succeeded in saving the bridge of Puento Nuevo which the British were already pulling down. Dulong headed the commandos himself and surprised the enemies by night recovering control over the bridge.
In 1813 Général Dulong was asked to serve in the personal guard of the Emperor. Napoléon disliked being surrounded by wounded soldiers, and it must have been a great mark of esteem bestowed upon the veteran to make such an exception for him. General Dulong did not, however, come back to the Emperor during the Cent jours. The restored Bourbon monarchy was keen on securing the support of the army and Général Dulong was created a count, a Grand Officier de la Légion d'Honneur and a lieutenant-commandant of the body guard of King Louis XVIII. He took part in the coronation of King Charles X and received the order of Saint Louis. At the end of his career he was made a gentilhomme de la Chambre du Roi. The later part of his life was, however, far less glorious and a physical ordeal. The pains he suffered from his wounds were such that the General finally committed suicide on 20 May 1828.
Ingres' portrait conveys the strength of character and courage of the sitter. The elegance and ease of the General's pose masks the veteran's infirmities. The uniform takes the eye away from the tense expression of the officer's face. The attention to details within the drawing achieves a psychological sense of balance between the decorum of an official portrait and the very humane depiction of a veteran still imbued with the dreams and disillusionment of the fall of the Empire. It is frequently said that Ingres drew portraits because of a lack of other commissions; for three years, between 1815 and 1818, it was his sole source of income. Indeed, later in life Ingres was interested to diminish that side of his production. What is indisputable, however, is that Ingres devoted a great deal of care to his portrait drawings, polishing a medium which has now become the hallmark of his genius.
Ingres drew portraits throughout his life. From 1824 on, he did not accept commissions for portraits from clients but executed them as gifts for his most intimate friends. During most of the time of the artist's stay in Rome, Ingres practised the genre in a manner which is as obsessive in its search for creativity as the many studies for his painted compositions are a reflection on his quest for perfection. Long before his French patrons had withdrawn their support from the artist, Ingres had practised the art of portraiture. Large sheets, such as the portrait of the family of Lucien Bonaparte, executed in 1815, when the French where still in power, or the group portrait of the Stamaty family from 1816, now at the Louvre, or the present drawing executed in the same year, reveal that Ingres was particularly ambitious in this medium. In the artist's mind such works were undoubtedly a challenge to the traditional oil portraits. It is important to notice that most of these elaborate sheets were engraved just like official portraits: for example, the portrait of the Cardinal de Pressigny was executed in such detail that Ingres engraved it himself. In 1850, this ambitious approach to the art of portrait drawings was still evident in the large group portrait of Edouard Gatteaux's family, assembled from various engravings after earlier drawings, yet retouched by the artist himself. It was sold in these Rooms on 6 July 1987, lot 55.
In 1827, a lithograph was made, based on the present drawing, by Atala Stamaty, one of Ingres' most highly gifted pupils in Rome. She was the daughter of Constantin Stamaty, the first employer of the young Etienne Dulong. The connection between Général Dulong and the Stamaty family was therefore a longstanding friendship. It was through Général Dulong that Ingres met the Stamaty family, and it was long believed that the general had married Constantin Stamaty's widow.