The portrait of the Count of Louis Orsonville, made by the painter Ingres at the age of 65, can be considered one of the finest examples of his late interests. Oil on canvas, 1845, 131.8 x 92cm, Collection of the Frick Museum of Fine Arts, New York.
Countess of Louise Ossonville
The painting depicts the young countess standing in front of the fireplace, dressed in an elegant, Dutch delft blue silk dress with ornate folds and details, several pieces of gold jewelry worn in both hands, and ornate red ribbons and tortoiseshell combs on her hair, painted in meticulous detail. One arm straddled her waist and the other bent upwards, her hand tucked under her chin, her face revealing a mysterious smile. The mirror in the back reflects her head and neck, and Angle uses the reflections within the mirror to allow the viewer to appreciate the Countess of Ossonville from different angles.
At this time, Ingres has become a lover of all beautiful and exquisite things, and the figures of this painting are rigorous and accurate, but because of this extraordinary accuracy and consistency in the expression of the technique, the lines become an absolutely overwhelming form and lose their painterliness, and also lose its active and smooth charm. The painter may have felt that this painterliness was so necessary that he compensated for its deficiencies with bright patches of color. Faithful to objectivity, striving to be realistic, creating truth, Ingres has achieved.
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