Editing Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres (section)

==Ingres and Delacroix==
Ingres and Delacroix became, in the mid-19th century, the most prominent representatives of the two competing schools of art in France, [[neoclassicism]] and [[romanticism]]. Neo-classicism was based in large part on the philosophy of [[Johann Joachim Winckelmann]] (1717–1768), who wrote that art should embody "noble simplicity and calm grandeur". Many painters followed this course, including [[François Gérard]], [[Antoine-Jean Gros]], [[Anne-Louis Girodet]], and [[Jacques-Louis David]], the teacher of Ingres. A competing school, romanticism, emerged first in Germany, and moved quickly to France. It rejected the idea of the imitation of classical styles, which it described as "gothic" and "primitive". The Romanticists in French painting were led by [[Théodore Géricault]] and especially Delacroix. The rivalry first emerged at the Paris Salon of 1824, where Ingres exhibited ''The Vow of Louis XIII'', inspired by [[Raphael]], while Delacroix showed ''The Massacre at Chios'', depicting a tragic event in the Greek War of Independence. Ingres's painting was calm, static and carefully constructed, while the work of Delacroix was turbulent, full of motion, colour, and emotion.{{Sfn|Fleckner|2007|pages=84–87}}

The dispute between the two painters and schools reappeared at the 1827 Salon, where Ingres presented ''L'Apotheose d'Homer'', an example of classical balance and harmony, while Delacroix showed ''[[The Death of Sardanapalus]]'', another glittering and tumultuous scene of violence. The duel between the two painters, each considered the best of his school, continued over the years. Paris artists and intellectuals were passionately divided by the conflict, although modern art historians tend to regard Ingres and other Neoclassicists as embodying the Romantic spirit of their time.<ref>Turner 2000, p. 237.</ref>

At the 1855 Universal Exposition, both Delacroix and Ingres were well represented. The supporters of Delacroix and the romantics heaped abuse on the work of Ingres. The [[Brothers Goncourt]] described "the miserly talent" of Ingres: "Faced with history, M. Ingres calls vainly to his assistance a certain wisdom, decency, convenience, correction and a reasonable dose of the spiritual elevation that a graduate of a college demands. He scatters persons around the center of the action ... tosses here and there an arm, a leg, a head perfectly drawn, and thinks that his job is done..."<ref>de Goncourt, Edmond and Jules, ''L'Exposition Universelle de 1855''</ref>

[[Baudelaire]] also, previously sympathetic toward Ingres, shifted toward Delacroix. "M. Ingres can be considered a man gifted with high qualities, an eloquent evoker of beauty, but deprived of the energetic temperament which creates the fatality of genius."<ref>Baudelaire, Charles, "The International Exposition of 1855"</ref>

Delacroix himself was merciless toward Ingres. Describing the exhibition of works by Ingres at the 1855 Exposition, he called it "ridiculous ... presented, as one knows, in a rather pompous fashion ... It is the complete expression of an incomplete intelligence; effort and pretension are everywhere; nowhere is there found a spark of the natural."<ref>Delacroix, Eugène, ''Journal'', 15 May 1855</ref>

According to Ingres' student [[Paul Chenavard]], later in their careers, Ingres and Delacroix accidentally met on the steps of the [[French Institute]]; Ingres put his hand out, and the two shook amicably.<ref>{{cite book |last1=De la Croix |first1=Horst |last2=Tansey |first2=Richard G. |last3=Kirkpatrick |first3=Diane |title=Gardner's Art Through the Ages |date=1991 |publisher=Thomson/Wadsworth |isbn=0-15-503769-2 |edition=9th |page=[https://archive.org/details/gardnersartthrou00gard/page/877 877] |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/gardnersartthrou00gard/page/877 }}</ref>