Ingres was a pupil of the neoclassical painter Jacques-Louis David. In 1801 he won the Prix de Rome, and remained in Italy for eighteen years. Ingres adored everything that Italy had to offer, from the masterpieces of the Renaissance to the numerous examples of antique art. In Rome, he studied at the French Academy (of which he later became Director) and worked on numerous commissions, from great classicizing works for Napoleon to small portraits of French visitors. He returned to Paris in the 1820s, where his work was celebrated by critics for its polished, elegant style. Ingres’s work was embedded in the classical tradition, and displayed his passionate belief in the supremacy of line over colour. He enjoyed an immensely successful career, and managed a thriving studio with many pupils.
A European style of art and architecture based on Ancient Greek and Roman models, with particular importance put on simplicity and discipline. It first appeared in the 1750s after the discovery of ancient archaeological sites in Greece and Rome. Such ideals have been revived at various points in history since, and contrast with more decadent and dynamic styles such as the Baroque.