Portrait of Monsieur Bertin is an 1832 oil-on-canvas painting by Jean- Auguste-Dominique Ingres. It depicts Louis-François Bertin (1766–1841), a writer, art collector and director of the pro-royalist Journal des débats. Having achieved acclaim as a history painter, Ingres accepted portrait commissions with reluctance, regarding them as a distraction. The painting had a prolonged genesis; he agonised over the pose and made several preparatory sketches. The final work presents Bertin as a personification of the commercially minded leaders of the liberal reign of Louis Philippe I, emanating a restless energy. He is physically imposing and self-assured but his real-life personality shines through – warm, wry and engaging to those who had earned his trust. The portrait is an unflinchingly realistic depiction of aging; Ingres emphasises the furrowed skin and thinning hair of an overweight man who maintains his resolve and determination. Although Bertin's family worried that the painting might been seen as a caricature, it is widely regarded as Ingres' finest male portrait and has been at the Musée du Louvre since 1897.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portrait_of_Monsieur_Bertin
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1345:
Inspecting a new prison without being escorted by his bodyguard, Alexios Apokaukos, megas doux of the Byzantine Navy, was lynched and killed by the prisoners. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexios_Apokaukos
1847:
Afonso died at age two, leaving his father Pedro II, the last emperor of Brazil, without a male heir. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afonso,_Prince_Imperial_of_Brazil
1956:
The six-day Gal Oya riots, the first ethnic riots targeting the minority Sri Lankan Tamils in post-independent Sri Lanka, began, eventually resulting in the deaths of at least 150 people and 100 injuries. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1956_Ceylonese_riots
1963:
The University of Alabama was desegregated as Governor of Alabama George Wallace stepped aside after defiantly blocking the entrance to an auditorium. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stand_in_the_Schoolhouse_Door
2012:
Two earthquakes struck northern Afghanistan, triggering a massive landslide that buried a village and killed 75 people. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_Afghanistan_earthquakes
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
grit: Strength of mind; great courage or fearlessness; fortitude. […] https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/grit
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
They say princes learn no art truly, but the art of horsemanship. The reason is, the brave beast is no flatterer. He will throw a prince as soon as his groom. --Ben Jonson https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ben_Jonson