Artwork
Madame Ingouf

Madame Ingouf is an ivory painting by the Rococo painting artist Vincent van Gogh. It dates from 1796 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The work presents a straightforward representation of a white female subject, adhering to the conventions of late 18th-century portrait miniatures.
Madame Ingouf is a miniature portrait executed in 1790 on ivory, depicting a woman in profile. The work presents a straightforward representation of a white female subject, adhering to the conventions of late 18th-century portrait miniatures. As a profile view, the composition emphasizes the sitter's silhouette and facial features against a neutral background, a common stylistic choice for intimate portraiture of the era.
The piece serves primarily as a visual record of the individual, Madame Ingouf, without explicit symbolic attributes or narrative elements described in available records. Its meaning is rooted in the personal commemoration of the sitter, reflecting the genre's function as a portable and precious object of remembrance rather than an allegorical statement.
Technique & Style
Madame Ingouf is executed as a miniature portrait on ivory, a support long favored for small-scale profile likenesses in the late eighteenth century. The work is classified as a painting within the Metropolitan Museum of Art's holdings, where it is catalogued under the Mary Anna Draper collection. Its genre is recorded as a miniature, and the composition presents the sitter in strict profile, a formal convention typical of neoclassical portrait practice.
The piece was featured in the exhibition European Miniatures in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, situating it within a broader tradition of European miniature painting. Beyond the ivory support and miniature format, the available documentation does not detail specific pigments, binding media, gilding, framing, or current condition.
History & Provenance
Madame Ingouf is a miniature portrait painted on ivory by the artist Vincent, created in 1790. The work depicts a woman in profile and is classified within the genre of European miniatures. It is currently held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, having been acquired through the bequest of Mary Anna Draper.
While the specific circumstances of the original commission and the detailed chain of ownership prior to the Drager bequest are not detailed in the provided records, the work's inception is firmly dated to 1790. The piece has been recognized in the institution's exhibition history, notably appearing in shows dedicated to European miniatures. The medium of ivory and the profile composition are characteristic of the portraiture style of the period.
Madame Ingouf, an ivory miniature portrait created in 1790 by the artist Vincent, is currently held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The work is part of the Mary Anna Draper bequest within the museum's holdings. While specific accession numbers are not detailed in the provided records, the piece is cataloged under the museum's inventory for European miniatures.
Its documented exhibition history includes a showing as part of the presentation titled European Miniatures in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The artwork depicts a woman in profile and is classified as a painting executed on ivory.
Overview
This miniature portrait, titled Madame Ingouf, was created in 1796. Painted on ivory, the small, round format depicts a woman in profile, her head slightly turned. Such intimate works were often designed for personal display, intended to be held or kept close by the owner. Its delicate scale and detailed execution reflect the common practice of portraiture during the late 18th century.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Vincent Willem van Gogh was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who is among the most famous and influential figures in the history of Western art.


















