The Alexandre Lethiere Family 

Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres made this pencil drawing of "The Alexandre Lethiere Family" in Rome, likely in 1819. The Lethiere family belonged to a certain social class, and this type of portraiture was a way to show off wealth and status. In the nineteenth century, French art was becoming increasingly institutionalized through the Académie des Beaux-Arts. Ingres was a major figure in this world, and the drawing reflects academic conventions of formal portraiture. It tells us something about the ways in which social status was expressed through dress, pose, and family arrangement. Ingres draws attention to the cultural values attached to family and lineage. To understand the work better, we might consult period fashion magazines, conduct research on the Académie des Beaux-Arts, and analyze other portraits by Ingres. This can reveal the meaning of what may at first seem to be a simple family portrait.