The Crowned Virgin JEAN-AUGUSTE DOMINQUE INGRES 1859

The artist was one of the most sophisticated of the master portraitists of his era, combining the Classical with the Romantic; he also has the ability to adopt and adapt from one art period to another. In the image of our Lady above he borrowed the clean lines of Raphael, whose Madonnas he held as the best. Why he has depicted her with her hands uplifted as if to say "Noli me tangere" or do not touch is a mystery, for Mary is above all a mother. I have combed various art books covering Ingres, searched through web museums-----there are many featuring Ingres' work, all mostly secular-----but to no avail. The manifest with our copy does not refer to the hands in the painting. I consider this image one of the more unusual of the "portraits" of the Mother of God.
 





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