Cherubini y la Musa de la poesía lírica

Ingres finished this portrait of the composer Luigi Cherubini in 1842, and it hides an unusual bit of surgery. Ingres had already painted Cherubini's head back in 1833. Rather than start again, he cut that head out of the old canvas and had it stitched onto a larger one, then added the standing muse of lyric poetry who reaches a protecting arm over the seated composer. That figure was largely the work of his pupil Henri Lehmann, and you can tell: only the muse is riddled with fine cracks, from too much oil and bitumen in her paint. King Louis-Philippe bought the picture straight from Ingres that year for 8,000 francs. Cherubini sits with his cheek propped on his hand, looking faintly unimpressed by the honour being paid to him.