The Borghese Chapel in Santa Maria Maggiore, Rome

Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, the preeminent French Neoclassical master (1780–1867), created The Borghese Chapel in Santa Maria Maggiore, Rome in 1824. This highly finished drawing reflects Ingres’s deep engagement with classical and Renaissance architecture during his extended period living and working in Italy. While the artist is primarily known for his demanding oil portraits and historical canvases, his extensive preparatory drawings and finished studies, like this one, are crucial documents of his rigorous aesthetic and technical precision.

The complex medium is characterized by meticulous execution, blending technical draftsmanship with nuanced painterly effects. Ingres utilized pen and brown ink alongside graphite for the foundational structure, employing brush and gray and brown wash to define volumes and shadows within the richly decorated chapel interior. Crucially, the surface was dramatically heightened with opaque white gouache, lending intense luminosity to areas of light reflection. Further subtle touches of color were added using red and ocher gouache. This rigorous combination of media showcases the demanding standards of French academic training that Ingres exemplified in the early 19th century.

This finished study, created over forty years before Ingres's death, serves as an important document of a master artist’s interpretation of Roman baroque space. The work currently resides in the esteemed collection of the Art Institute of Chicago. As a significant drawing from this era, high-resolution reproductions of the piece are often made available through public domain initiatives, ensuring its accessibility for scholarship worldwide.