The Lawyer Paul Grand

The Lawyer Paul Grand is a detailed graphite drawing created by Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres in 1834. This exquisite work exemplifies Ingres’s masterful draftsmanship, a skill for which the Neoclassical artist was highly celebrated throughout his long career. Unlike his grand, often monumental oil paintings, this drawing provides an intimate and highly finished study of the sitter, characterized by precise, clean lines and subtle sfumato-like shading achieved through careful manipulation of the medium. Ingres produced many such refined pencil portraits, often commissioned as independent works by influential patrons who valued the artist’s unparalleled ability to capture character with minimal means.

The subject, Paul Grand, a lawyer, is rendered with characteristic fidelity, capturing not just his physical likeness but also suggesting his professional gravity and intellectual rigor. Ingres focused meticulously on the detailed depiction of the sitter’s clothing and expression, elements crucial in establishing the social and professional status of men in the 19th century. This finished portrait reflects the intense demand for personalized, high-quality images among the Parisian elite during the mid-1830s.

The original drawing is classified as a masterpiece within the collection of European drawings and prints held by The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Ingres’s work serves as a prime reference point for understanding the evolution of the official portrait in 19th-century France. Because of its age and significance, high-resolution digital representations of the artwork often enter the public domain, allowing institutions and enthusiasts globally to access high-quality study prints for research and educational purposes.