Description

Ingres famously said that “Drawing is everything; it is all of art,” and that “Smoke itself should be expressed by a line.” His celebrated portrait drawings exemplify his devotion to pure line.
Ingres drew his portrait of Jean-Louis Robin, chief physician of the French Hospital in Rome, from the Villa Medici, the site of the French Academy in Rome, where the artist was in residence at the time. In the distance, drawn with technical precision, is Saint Peter’s Basilica.
Using only graphite, with an astonishing economy of means and in the absence of color and modeling, Ingres rendered a personality and a setting as fully realized as in any painted portrait.

Provenance

Jean-Louis Robin, France (died 1846) [according to Naef 1977]; given or bequeathed to Robin's relative M. Merandon, Autun [according to Naef 1977]; sold to Eugene Froment-Delormel for Amaury-Duval (died 1885), France, 1875 [according to Naef 1977]; bequeathed to Eugene Froment-Delormel (died 1900), Paris; by descent to his daughter, Mme. Mazeran [according to Naef 1977]; given to her cousin, Maurice Bouts, 1902 [according to Naef 1977]. Sold, Hôtel Drouot, Paris, June 29, 1927, lot 31 to Cesar de Hauke, France, for 7,000 francs [according to Naef 1977]; sold to Emily Crane Chadbourne (1871-1964), Washington D.C., 1927 [according to Naef 1977]; given to the Art Institute, 1953.