WE DISCUSSED (here and here) one of the stunning female portraits of Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres  — the portrait of the Comtesse D’Haussonville. Here is another captivating face, that of Madame Frederic Reiset. The oil painting was completed in 1846. Notice its conscious resemblance to the early form of photography, the daguerreotype, which would have been capturing attention then.

The art critic Kenneth Clark wrote that Madame Reiset was a friend of the painter’s and “one can feel it.” Clark wrote in his book The Romantic Rebellion:

Madame Reiset has recorded that when he was painting it she used to hear Monsieur Ingres groaning and sobbing in the next room, so painful to him was the attempt to combine truth and style.

Ingres had a way of harmonizing the sumptuous clothing of the era with personality. The delicate lace collar here complements the melting quality of Madame Reiset’s face and turns a somewhat austere gown into a thing of great beauty. As for the dramatic ringlets, they are the perfect enclosure — like an ornate wrought iron fence around a garden — for the deep pools of Madame Reiset’s eyes.

Everything about Madame Reiset as conveyed in this portrait is a standing rebuke to modern feminism. To a feminist, her passivity, her elegance, her delicacy  — all are signs of her victimization.

— Comments —

Catherine H. writes:

I know nothing of painting, so I enjoy and appreciate your posts on such paintings as these, as you explain what strikes your eye and describe the finer points of the artist’s work. My first thought, upon reading this particular post regarding Madame Frederic Reiset, was on the old-fashioned custom of styling a woman by her husband’s name, and how I regret that this highly un-feminist custom has almost disappeared.

Laura writes:

Thank you.

Yes, it is a beautiful custom, to identify a woman by her husband’s first and last name. It’s not entirely disappeared, but it’s rare. As it is, many women do not adopt their husbands’ surnames.

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