When Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres (1780-1867) painted the portrait of Mathieu Louis Count Molé (1781-1855) in 1834, only a few months were to elapse before Molé became his country’s Minister of Foreign Affairs. It was also part of his political career that in 1813, at the age of only 32, he became Minister of Justice. In the picture, the elegant count stands as though he had just received a guest and is inviting that guest to be seated. He is leaning on the chair as though waiting and meanwhile holding a lorgnette in his right hand. A fireplace can be discerned behind him on which lie a quill pen and a couple of books.
Once Ingres had delivered a painting to the person commissioning it, it could be inaccessible to him. So he wanted his most important works to be turned into prints. Ingres believed that the print should do justice to the painted masterpiece. He also believed that the engraver would be unable to avoid adding something to the painting while working on it. And this made Ingres sceptical. The Italian engraver Luigi Calamatta was introduced to him in Paris in 1825, and he was able to convince Ingres of his skill. It took Calamatta several years to make a print.
