Madame Alexandre Lethière and Her Daughter Letizia

Madame Alexandre Lethière and Her Daughter Letizia is an exquisite graphite drawing created by Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres between 1810 and 1820. This intimate work serves as a double portrait, capturing the mother, Madame Lethière, and her infant daughter, Letizia. Ingres executed numerous such highly detailed portraits during his formative years in Rome, where he refined his precise Neo-Classical draftsmanship. The choice of graphite, a medium favored for capturing delicate detail, allows the artist to focus entirely on the contours of form and subtle expression.

The drawing technique emphasizes Ingres's commitment to pure linearity. He meticulously renders the features of the two women. Madame Lethière, likely seated, regards the viewer directly, while the sleeping infant, positioned intimately close to her, introduces a poignant softness to the composition. Ingres’s masterful control of shading differentiates textures, from the smoothness of the women's skin to the fabric of their clothing. These sensitive family portraits, often created as personal gifts or independent studies, highlight the artist's unparalleled ability to capture the psychological presence of his sitters, even in a small-scale drawing.

The sitters held a significant connection for the artist; Madame Lethière’s husband, Alexandre Lethière, was the Director of the French Academy in Rome, a powerful association that proved vital to Ingres's career during his Italian stay. This drawing is a testament to the quality and consistency of his graphic work from that period. The precision and tender depiction of infants and women in Madame Alexandre Lethière and Her Daughter Letizia make it a highly significant piece in the artist’s oeuvre. Today, this important work resides in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.