This was an article from The Telegraph which I found helpful as it gave me an insight into Christen Kobke's life. It made me up understand where his love for art came from and also shone light on how he worked and what sort of things he liked to paint. He liked to paint to paint the World through his own eyes, without the influence of past artists.
This website was helpful to me because it gave me some background information on Madame Moitessier. She was the daughter of a civil servant. Born in 1821 she married the wealthy banker, and one time importer of Cuban cigars, Sigisbert Moitessier. He was in his forties whilst she was just twenty-one years of age. Two years later, her husband spoke to a friend of Ingres and asked him to speak to the artist about painting a portrait of his new wife, Madame Moitessier. Ingres refused the commission, as to him, portraiture was a “low” form of art and he preferred to concentrate on “history paintings”.
Ingres met Madame Moitsessier was immediately struck and captivated by her beauty and agreed to paint her portrait. Ingres had suggested that Madames daughter was in the portrait, and she originally was. But after her rebelling and not being able to stay still for lengthy periods of times, she got painted over.
Ingres was a perfectionist. Everything had to be just right with the work and over a period of time the clothes which Madame Montessier wore were changed to suit the artist and be of the latest fashion. In the finished painting she wears the latest woven floral fabric with a crinoline, the stiffened petticoat, which had just come into fashion in 1855. The lady also had little choice on what jewellery she should wear. Ingres was the Master and told her what to wear and couched his suggestions in terms of flattery.
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