Post-Narrative Painting by Jean-August-Dominique Ingres

The term “post-narrative painting” was coined by Susan Siegfried in her landmark book Ingres: Painting Reimagined. At a time when Neoclassical depictions of virtuous actions — popularized by his teacher Jacques-Louis David — dominated French art, Ingres created works that confounded and frustrated the public by “abandoning physical action as a basis of heroism.”¹

In this week’s discussion, we use Siegfried’s writing as an approach to understanding the unusual development and career of Jean-August-Dominique Ingres (French, 1780-1867). As you can tell from the recording, I was just overcoming a nasty flu and nearly lost my voice by the end. (Sorry.) Enjoy.

Jean-Aguste-Dominique Ingres (French, 1780-1867) from Micah Christensen on Vimeo.

1. Susan Siegfried. Ingres: Painting Reimagined (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2009), 21.