La belle Ferronnière Paris, about 1802-6 Black chalk, stump and wash Paper: 52.5 x 41.8 cm; mount: 78.5 x 57.5 cm This drawing is a copy of a painting attributed to Leonardo da Vinci in the Louvre, Paris, thought to represent a mistress of Francis I. Ingres’s work precisely traces the subtle contours of the … Read more
Portrait of a Woman, called ‘La Belle Ferronnière’ Paris, about 1802-06 Black chalk, stump and wash on paper 525 x 418 mm Ingres’ study of a much-debated portrait by Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) depicts the so-called ‘La belle ferronnière’ (Louvre Museum, Paris). Legend stated the sitter was the wife of an ironmonger (a ferronnier) who became the … Read more
Paolo and Francesca Rome, about 1814-20 Oil on canvas 35 x 28 cm Paolo kisses Francesca, inflamed by their reading of the Arthurian romance of Guinevere and Lancelot. Gianciotto, her deformed husband, and brother of Paolo, enters from the right and prepares to kill them. This story of illicit lovers, condemned to an eternity in … Read more
Works of art on paper are perhaps the fastest area of growth for the collection and there are now over a thousand drawings and prints covering six centuries of the draughtsman’s and printmaker’s art. There is a small but very fine selection of old master drawings with magnificent sheets by Dürer, Ingres, Rembrandt, Pietro da … Read more
