Portrait of Paul Lemoyne

By 1810 Rome was full of French artists. Napoleon had annexed the city, and the French Academy at the Villa Medici drew a whole community of painters, sculptors, and writers to its studios. Ingres had come as a prize-winner and then simply stayed, short of money and out of favor back home. Among the friends he made was the sculptor Paul Lemoyne, freshly arrived from Paris, and Ingres painted him not on commission but as a gift. There is nothing official about it. Lemoyne sits close and informal, collar open, looking back at the painter like someone caught mid-conversation. The two stayed friends for life, and Lemoyne, who settled permanently in Rome, outlived Ingres and nearly reached 90.