Louise Girard

Dedicated to the esteemed French architect Achille-François-René Leclère, this print reproduces a graphite drawing made by Ingres in 1812, in which Leclère (on the left) is seen in the company of his friend and colleague Jean-Louis Provost. Both had studied first in Paris under architect Charles Percier, and Ingres’s portrait may celebrate the reunion of these fellow students in Rome in 1812 as pensionnaires at the French Academy. This work is a private testament to Ingres’s friendship with both men. In reproducing the original drawing as a print, Louise Bathilde Girard used a stipple engraving technique to capture the delicate and intimate character of the original drawing.