Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres

Mme Charles Marcotte d'Argenteuil, née Louise Becquet de Layens (d. 1862), to her husband;
Charles Marcotte d'Argenteuil (1773-1864), to his daughter;
Mme Hubert Rohault de Fleury, née Louise Marcotte (1833-1873), the sitter of the portrait, to her husband;
Hubert Rohault de Fleury (1828-1910), to his daughter;
Mme Charles-Marie-Eugène Jacquin de Margerie, née Charlotte-Louise-Marie Rohault de Fleury (d. 1948);
with Blot, Paris, by whom sold, before 1950, to Georges Renand (d. 1968);
his second sale, Paris, Drouot, Collection Georges Renand, 15 March 1988, lot 35, reproduced

Paris, Salon des Arts-Unis, Dessins [d'Ingres] tirés de collections d'amateurs, 1861;
Paris, Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Ingres, 1867, no. 336;
Paris, Galerie Jacques Seligman, Portraits par Ingres et ses élèves, 1934, no. 38;
Paris, Galerie Bernheim-Jeune, Cent-cinquante ans de dessin, 1800-1950, 1952, no. 89;
New York, Jan Krugier Gallery, The Presence of Ingres, 1988, no. 34

E. Galichon, 'Description des Dessins de M. Ingres [exposés au Salon des Arts-Unis], deuxième série', Gazette des Beaux-Arts, Paris, 1 July 1861, p. 46;
C. Blanc, Ingres, Paris, 1870, p. 236;
H. Delaborde, Ingres, Paris, 1870, no. 297 and no. 369 (catalogued twice in error);
F. Elgar, Ingres, Paris 1951, p. 6, fig. 23;
H. Naef, 'Ingres' Portraits of the Marcotte Family', The Art Bulletin, December 1958, pp. 336-345, fig. 21;
H. Naef, Die Bildniszeichnungen von J.-A.-D. Ingres, Bern 1980, vol. II, pp. 529-30, fig. 22; vol.V, p. 304, no. 410

The drawing is overall in good condition. It was originally laid on a board to be enjoyed as a painting, the drawing in fact stops before the folds. It looks as though about 3 cm of the end margin was wrapped around a thin support, these edges with missing corners have been slightly reinforced with some japan paper. The drawing surface has been cleaned at some point, there are signs of discolouration from an old mount which now appears slightly whiter than the original more beige paper, which must have also suffered from some discolouration. Sold in a modern carved and gilded frame.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Louise Marie Chantal Rohault de Fleury (1833-1873) was the second daughter of Ingres's great friend and benefactor Charles Marcotte d'Argenteuil (1773-1864).  During his sojourn in Rome in 1810, Ingres formed two of the most important friendships of his life. The first was with Edouard Gatteaux, whom he had met at Villa Medici as a winner of the Prix de Rome in the year 1809.  Edouard Gatteaux introduced him to Charles Marcotte d'Argenteuil, who in 1810 had taken a new post in Rome as a high official of the Imperial forestry and water administration.  Marcotte was an art lover and was keen to find an inspired portraitist.  In the same year he was portrayed by Ingres in a remarkable work, now in the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., which in Hans Naef's words codifies their friendship: 'Ingres painted the magnificent portrait which serves, so to speak, as a frontispiece to a relationship to do justice to which a whole book might well be required'.¹  

In 1812 Marcotte was transferred from Rome to Holland, but the friends remained in close contact.  When Ingres returned to France in 1824, he was welcomed by Marcotte's large family.  Naef quotes from a letter written by Ingres from Paris to his wife, who was then still in Florence, which is testimony to the enthusiasm of this reunion.² Ingres made masterful painted and drawn portraits of at least fourteen members of the Marcotte family, some of whom he drew more than once: an 1825 portrait of Charles Marcotte's eighty-four year old mother is, for example, known in two autograph versions.³

Louise, the gentle sitter of this expressive and intimate portrait, was 15 when it was drawn and her likeness is dedicated to her mother Mme Charles Marcotte d'Argenteuil.  Ten years later Ingres drew a portrait of Louise's husband, the painter Hubert Rohault de Fleury (1828-1910), and dedicated it to her (now Museum of Fine Arts, Montreal).⁴ Naef transcribes a lovely description of the bride given by Hubert's brother Georges on the day of the couple's wedding, 5 May 1857: 'Je me rappelle cette pauvre petite soeur pendant cette soirée, sa figure si douce, qui, en ce moment, était d'une extreme pâleur. Louise, sans avoir ce qu'on appelle les traits réguliers, possédait un charme singulier: Ses beaux cheveux blonds, son regard bleu and limpide, la distinction de tout sa personne, imposaient la sympathie, avant même que la suavité et le tendresse de son cœur n'aient été révélées par une plus longue connoissance. Cela explique le chagrin d'un malheureux jeune homme qui devint fou pour n'avoir pu l'épouser'.⁵

1.  Naef, op. cit., December 1958, p. 336 and for an image of the painting see Portraits by Ingres, exhibition catalogue, New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1999, p. 122-123, no. 26, reproduced

2.  Naef, op. cit., Bern 1980, vol. II, p. 505

3.  Naef, op. cit., 1980, vol. II, pp. 503-533

4.  Naef, op. cit., Bern 1980, vol. V, p. 372-373, no. 446, reproduced

5.  Naef, op. cit., Bern 1980, vol. II, p. 531