The Portrait of Madame Paul Meurice, née Palmyre Granger is a refined drawing created by the influential French Neoclassical master Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres between 1840 and 1855. Executed with exceptional precision using graphite on wove paper, this piece exemplifies Ingres's renowned skill as a draftsman. Unlike his grand oil canvases, this intimate portrait focuses purely on the clarity of line and form, capturing the sitter with exacting, nearly sculptural detail. Ingres’s portraits of women, particularly those rendered in pencil, are highly celebrated for their ability to achieve both technical perfection and psychological insight.
The subject, Palmyre Granger (1805-1896), was the wife of the French writer and journalist Paul Meurice, who was notably a close friend and collaborator of Victor Hugo. Ingres captures her likeness with characteristic rigor, focusing intently on the contours of her face and the texture of her elaborate hairstyle and attire. This drawing reflects the mid-19th century preference for classical clarity in portraiture, favoring objective representation over subjective Romantic emotion.
This work serves as a vital record of Parisian society and is a significant example of the master’s commitment to draftsmanship throughout his career. This piece is part of the extensive collection of European drawings housed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. As the drawing has been digitized by the museum, high-quality prints and reproductions are often available in the public domain, allowing wide study of Ingres's masterful graphite technique.
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