Portrait of Edme Bochet 1811

Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres painted this portrait of Edme Bochet using oil on canvas. Ingres was a master of smooth, almost photographic realism. Look closely at the way he rendered Bochet’s velvet coat; the texture is so convincing, you might be tempted to reach out and touch it. Ingres achieved this illusion through meticulous brushwork, building up thin layers of paint, or glazes, to create subtle variations in tone and depth. But there’s more to this portrait than just technical skill. Consider the social context: Ingres was a highly sought-after portraitist, and painting someone’s likeness was a way of asserting their status. The smooth surface of the painting reflects the social polish of the sitter. By appreciating Ingres’s mastery of oil paint, we gain insight into the values and aspirations of the world he inhabited, moving beyond questions of mere likeness and into the deeper registers of social meaning.