.jpg?w=1)
拍品专文
The sitter in this sensitive drawing has been traditionally identified as Charles-Bernardin-Ghislain Coppieters-Stochove (1774-1864), to whose collection its provenance can be traced. An official in Bruges, he served in a number of government roles, including periods as the Member for Bruges of the Congrès National (Belgian parliament), Vice-President of the Chambre des Représentants and President of the Tribunal de première instance. In 1813 he would have been 39 years old, an age which fits with that of the man in the present drawing, and the identification is further supported by physiognomic similarities between this drawing and a lithographic portrait of Coppieters-Stochove in later life by Charles Baugniet (fig. 1). The heavy-lidded eyes, arched eyebrows and wide nose appear in both portraits, and in both the sitter's expression is enlivened by the same faint hint of a smile.
The drawing dates from Ingres's Roman period (1806-1820), which began with his stay at the Villa Medici after he had won the Prix de Rome. It was at this date that he began to develop and refine the formula for the exquisitely detailed pencil portraits for which he has become so celebrated as a draughtsman. He began making these for his friends and acquaintances, often fellow French artists, as under the terms of his prize stipend he could not engage himself in major commissions outside the scope of his studies at the Villa Medici. However, from 1810 he was no longer bound by the terms of the Prix de Rome and this allowed him the flexibility to approach more distinguished sitters in the French community, such as his future friend and patron Charles Marcotte (1773-1864), who arrived in Rome at this date. The pencil portraits therefore began to feature sitters beyond Ingres's immediate circle of friends, broadening his fame as a master in this field. Although there is no documentary proof of Coppieters-Stochove's visit to Rome, he would have moved in precisely the kind of elevated Francophone circles from which Ingres's patrons at this time were often drawn.
The execution of the work is characteristic of Ingres's style at this period. The head has been brought to a high level of finish, with subtle hatching showing the fall of light across the sitter's cheeks, while the body, costume and hair are represented with swifter, looser strokes which confidently sketch out the man's casual stance. Suffused with a relaxed, genial individuality, it shows the psychological insight which made Ingres's portraits so attractive in expatriate circles in Rome.
(fig. 1) Charles Baugniet (1814-1886), Portrait of Charles Coppieters-Stochove, lithograph.
The drawing dates from Ingres's Roman period (1806-1820), which began with his stay at the Villa Medici after he had won the Prix de Rome. It was at this date that he began to develop and refine the formula for the exquisitely detailed pencil portraits for which he has become so celebrated as a draughtsman. He began making these for his friends and acquaintances, often fellow French artists, as under the terms of his prize stipend he could not engage himself in major commissions outside the scope of his studies at the Villa Medici. However, from 1810 he was no longer bound by the terms of the Prix de Rome and this allowed him the flexibility to approach more distinguished sitters in the French community, such as his future friend and patron Charles Marcotte (1773-1864), who arrived in Rome at this date. The pencil portraits therefore began to feature sitters beyond Ingres's immediate circle of friends, broadening his fame as a master in this field. Although there is no documentary proof of Coppieters-Stochove's visit to Rome, he would have moved in precisely the kind of elevated Francophone circles from which Ingres's patrons at this time were often drawn.
The execution of the work is characteristic of Ingres's style at this period. The head has been brought to a high level of finish, with subtle hatching showing the fall of light across the sitter's cheeks, while the body, costume and hair are represented with swifter, looser strokes which confidently sketch out the man's casual stance. Suffused with a relaxed, genial individuality, it shows the psychological insight which made Ingres's portraits so attractive in expatriate circles in Rome.
(fig. 1) Charles Baugniet (1814-1886), Portrait of Charles Coppieters-Stochove, lithograph.