Comtesse Charles d’Agoult (born Marie de Flavigny) and Her Daughter Claire d’Agoult

Description

One of Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres’s largest and most ambitious portrait drawings, this work depicts the important Parisian society hostess, writer, and critic the Comtesse Marie d’Agoult and her daughter Claire.

Ingres typically produced his portrait drawings without preparation and in a single sitting. This work, in contrast, required at least two sittings and three preparatory studies. The drawing is notable for its evocation of the richly furnished interior of d’Agoult’s home. The artist selectively applied yellow watercolor to enhance objects and added white heightening to the sitters’ dresses to suggest the sheen of silk.

Provenance

Comtesse Charles d’Agoult (née Marie Catherine Sophie de Flavigny; 1805–1876), Paris; by descent to her daughter, Marquise Guy Ernest Charles de Girard de Charnacé (née Claire d’Agoult; 1830–1912), Versailles; by descent to her son, Marquis Daniel de Girard de Charnacé (1851–1942), Croissy-Beaubourg; by descent to his daughter, Comtesse de Saint-Priest d’Urgel (née Claude de Girard de Charnacé; 1883–1984); by descent to her daughter, Marquise de la Garde de Saignes (née Anne-Dauphine de Saint-Priest d’Urgel; 1908–1992), Paris; sold, Drouot Montaigne, Paris, Mar. 17, 1989, lot 18. Sold, Christie’s, New York, Jan. 31, 2013, lot 85, through François néee to the Gray Collection Trust, Chicago; given to the Art Institute of Chicago, 2019.