Medvedev Dmitriy: http://www.proza.ru/2012/07/02/1089
I might not be a bird, but some images make me Ingr-y. First of all, Jeans’ brush work never seemed to me like a stroke of genius, due to shortcuts made by copying his own works. Sure, nobody forbids that, but is sure make the artists’ repertoire a poor one. He saved time by making copy-paste of the main character and changing the background, clothes or surroundings. Happily, the works of this painter were spread evenly by the museums, so there are no halls where similar mothers-of-god would hang, performing the same adoration (bowing to the Spiritual Gifts) with Latin, Catholic or Russian Orthodox saints. Also, you won’t see all his bathing girls hanging around together, from the big one* to the smallest, with their bodies and half-bodies**. There’s also no hall of Angelicas, where all the canvases are named without imagination: “Angelica tries to study”, “Angelica in bondage” and “Angelica gone Rouge”*** or something of the sorts.
But what’s the excuse for the same Angelica with the twisted throat? Or the “La Grande Odalisque”, with the extra spinal vertebrae, elongated hand and the left leg bent unnaturally? If you’d describe your girlfriend this way to someone with a good imagination, he’s bound to have nightmares all night long. Yeas, sure, we’ve heard the stories about the famous brush-man using it to show grace in the mannerism style. I call BS! The “Three Graces”, who weren’t done by his hand, are truly graceful, without extra bones in their necks or bodies. And if I were to pick a bone with his drawings, there’s one another flop I’d like to mention. Ingres has a mannerist portraits of Countess Louisa, with elongated right forearm, which makes the hand look like it belongs to someone else. And don’t give me that story a about her lowering her shoulder- in the mirror behind her back it looks actually raised.
I understand why people visit museums- would a guy sitting in front of the screen think “Nope, never seen so many slips before in my life, why don’t I go ahead and watch more of them?” And the walking from one canvas to the other causes Jamais- vu**** even for the famous drawings, where beauties captured by equally pretended liquor create an atmosphere of lust and sloth.
In this particular case, I imply the “Turkish Bath”, created by Ingres as he came of a very late age. The painting seems to sum up all the nu-clear works of years passed. Even cut down to the size of a tondo, it holds in the odalisque, Angelica, the Bather of Valpincon, and even the three-handed dame, just without the extra limbs. And despite the lack of photographic precision of those naked chess players, as in women who can stay quiet for hours, watch their figures well and know many positions, it gives the impression of looking into some sort of a crystal ball. The additional effect of the spherical curve of the painting is created not only by the cut corners of the once-square painting, but also the perspective of positioning the bodies. The prolonged association with a peeping tom made me feels like a rascal, setting a poor tone, or should I say tondo. But even this canvas has failed to shift my position regarding the artist. The fleeting effect has passed and the painting, which turned out as a bit more original than his other creations, was still deemed by me as mediocrity compared to the rest of the Louvre works.
After walking through several more halls, I’ve suddenly ran into the portrait of Louis- Francois Bertin. It’s hard to believe that this creation came from the same author. As opposed to the previous artwork, Louis was anything but a chess player (a bit fat, and chess is a sport), thank god that he wasn’t in the nu style, and the best part- its wasn’t a thousand pieces puzzle requiring a solution. I think that during the building of a wall or a single-colored jacket, I’d burn that one. But, despite the monotony of colors on the un-complex portrait of the Debats journals’ publisher, the banal pose and the inexpressive, emotionless expression of that Francois Frenchman, the picture was vivant. Ingres surprised me with the realism of the plainclothesman’s’ order, where the bourgeois sat looking as if he’d read the Windows’ license agreement from the beginning to the end. Look how well and correct can this author be in his work when he’s getting the payment out front.
* The Bather of Valpincon, aka the “Grande bather”, named after the first collector who bought the canvas.
** “Half Length Bather”- the first painting by Ingres with the bather.
*** The proper names of the canvases are: “Angelica. Study for the Roger Delivering Angelica”, “Angelica in Chains” and “Roger delivering Angelica”.
**** Jamais- Vu- a feeling opposed to Deja-vu.