Masters in Art, Part 79, Volume 7, July, 1906: Ingres

This volume invites listeners into the formative years of one of France’s most disciplined painters. It opens with a vivid portrait of his childhood in Montauban, where a house‑decorator father nurtured both his son’s drawing hand and his violin bow. By twelve the young Ingres was already dazzling audiences in a theater orchestra, yet the pull of the easel proved stronger, and he began formal lessons that set him on a path toward the Academy.

The narrative follows his restless apprenticeship, first under local masters and then in the bustling studio of Jacques‑Louis David in Paris. There he earned early acclaim, assisting on high‑profile portraits and winning a coveted prize that secured a future in Rome. Though financial setbacks delayed his departure, the eventual Italian sojourn immersed him in the ancient and Renaissance masters—especially Raphael—shaping the elegant, precise style that would define his later work.