
Jean-Auguste Dominique Ingres
1780 – 1860The last of the French neoclassical painters, Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres is the inventor of an atypical, mannerist, feminine beauty canon which made her famous. His masterpiece is La Grande Odalisque (1814), inscribed as much in the history of Orientalism as in the tradition of the great masters of Western painting. Skillful designer, admirer of Raphael and follower of the pure line, Ingres was of such influence that one speaks of “ingrism” or of “ingresque period” when other artists, such Pablo Picasso, came to sorrow. ‘inspire in his own way. His passion and talent for the violin inspired the phrase “having an Ingres violin”.
Antoine Bourdelle
1861-1929Born in Montauban at 6 rue de l’Hotel de Ville, a stone’s throw from the museum which now bears his name, Antoine Bourdelle revealed an early disposition to drawing and sculpture at the age of 13. A student of the sculptor Falguière at the Beaux Arts in Paris, Bourdelle quickly became a practitioner in Rodin’s studio and worked with the Master for 15 years. His most outstanding work is Héraclès archer (1910), whose original plaster is on display at the Ingres Bourdelle museum in Montauban. 13 sculptures by the artist can be freely discovered in the city center. The art of Bourdelle is also recognized in Paris with the Bourdelle museum and a Garden-Museum in Egreville (77). For the nostalgic, Bourdelle also inspired the brand of notebooks for schoolchildren “Héraklès”.
