Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres (1780–1867)
Frau Reinhold and Her Daughters,
Susette-Marie and Marie-Auguste-Friederike, 1815
Graphite
Signed, inscribed, and dated in graphite at lower right,
Ingres Del. Rome 1815.
11 15/16 x 8 13/16 inches (303 x 225 mm)
Thaw Collection; 2101.112
During Ingres's first tenure in Rome, from 1806
until 1820, he drew and painted portraits of
foreign visitors and officials, although multifigure
compositions, such as the present sheet, are rare.
The sitters are the wife and daughters of Johann
Gottfried Reinhold (1771–1838), who, after the
dissolution of the Napoleonic regime, was appointed
the Dutch ambassador to Rome and Florence.
Reinhold commissioned at least three portraits
from the artist while his family was stationed in
Rome between 1814 and 1827. Like many of Ingres's
drawings, this sheet was executed on a prepared
tablet with layers of paper wrapped around a
cardboard center. The cushioning created a taut
surface upon which he could incise delicate lines
into the soft layers. The scene is made especially
endearing by Frau Reinhold's crossed arms as she
holds each daughter's delicate hand, a gesture that
emphasizes their familial love and unity.
