Jean-Auguste-Dominique IngresFrench, 1780–1867Augustine-Modeste-Hortense Reiset
Can I see it?
Yes, on view now
Where is “Augustine-Modeste-Hortense Reiset” now? Harvard Art Museums, Gallery 2200, floor 2, European and American Art, 17th–19th century, Cambridge. Yes, on view now. Checked October 12, 2026.
Cambridge, United States
Room2200, floor 2, European and American Art, 17th–19th century
On public display.
- Checked
- In this state since
- Source
- The museum
About the painting
Ingres painted this likeness of his good friend in her summer home in Enghien, near Paris. He had met Augustine-Modeste-Hortense and her husband, Frédéric, in Italy, during his tenure as the director of the French Academy in Rome; Frédéric soon became an avid collector of the artist’s work and later served as curator of drawings at the Louvre. After returning to Paris, Ingres often sought refuge at his friends’ lake house, which he called “paradise.”With its oval format, limited color range, and the striking realism of its sitter, this painting can easily be compared to daguerreotype photography. However, rather than imitating the new medium of photography, this work, with its subtle fluctuation between clarity and blurriness, functions as a painterly challenge to the early limitations of photographic technologies.
Harvard Art Museums
Details
- Accession number
- 1943.249
In the catalog
Sources
- Harvard Art Museums
- Image: Harvard Art Museums — © President and Fellows of Harvard College
