AN
ITALIAN
FROM
LETTER
BY MICHEL
INGRES
N. BENISOVICH
Mr. Benisovich is well known for his research in
records and documents of the history of art, particularly Europeanpainting of the eighteenthcentury.He
has published other letters in the Museum's collection
in the Art Bulletin, the Gazette des Beaux-Arts,
and the Bulletin des Amis de Courbet in Paris.
Ingres, who was at the time, I838, Director of
the French Academy in Rome:
a Sua Emma. Revea. Cardinal Camerlengo di
ta Chiesa
Emminenza Reverendissima
il sottoscritto Direttore della Reale academia di
Francia bramando di potere misurare e formare,
In the Museum Library there is an album of o sia stampare qualque dettagli dei tempi nella
citta di Cora, a l'onore di pregare Sua Emma.
letters from painters, mostly of the nineteenth
to
the
Museum
and
Sua Reva. di volergli concederne la necessaria
given
century, put together
P.
York
dealer
Samuel
the
New
Licenza.
Avery
by
picture
a number of years ago. Some are letters to Mr.
Sperando che tale domanda verra favorin
Paris.
others
were
evolamente
accolta della Sua benevolenza.
evidently acquired
Avery;
in
is
Mi
these
last
one
dichiaro
con sensi di sommo Rispetto, di
Italian, by
written,
Among
Sua Emminenza Reverendissima
The "Temple of Hercules" at Cori, engraving
umilissimo ed ubbidientissimo servitore
ABOVE:
a
is
to
letter
Piranesi
request
(1720-1778). Ingres's
by
J. Ingres
Roma 14 di agosto 1838
makeplans of the temples of Cori. Rogers Fund, I9r4
231
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve, and extend access to
The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin
®
www.jstor.org
It is addressed to the Camerlengo, or Chamberlain, of the College of Cardinals and reads:
Most Reverend Eminence
The undersigned Director of the Royal Academy
of France, wishing to be allowed to measure and
make plans of,
:eJ e-W
perhaps to pub/
deseveral
tw-lish,
_
tails of temples in
the town of Cora
[Cori], has the
honor
to beg
Your Most Reverend Eminence
to grant the nec^
*
essary permit.
t
that
Hoping
O
such a request
t
: i,,
:
will be favorably
1
I
entertained
v
's ,
9
I declare my-:t
self, with sentiments ofthe highl.
est respect, Your
i
[ Ii
Most Reverend
..
Eminence's
.
most humble
:
and most obedij
ent servant
(I764) and other books dealing with Roman remains there: Antolini, L'Ordine Dorico; ossia, il
Tempio d'Ercole nella citta di Cori (1785); Viola,
Memorie dell' antichissima citta di Cori nei Volsci
(1825); and Angelini and Fea, Monumenti piu
insigni del Lazio
"'x-4
C'
vw
(1828).
a^:
iftw I?
0;;;r,w
u y.
^'
>
&t.
s
f,&
w
;fA<. A16^4^t04
;
; :a i,,.itf
~-Si
I
d
*
?
...?
i:
i:i
!
:0;
-
: ^ iI
^^1^^ ^
:
0
ot.AcA'%t,
.
::;~::..
the year
? .r..i.
..te
..:...
.^
:i:
,::::,
s:i .:~
J. Ingres
Rome August
I838. .
;:X
;
There is not to
our knowledge
any evidence that
Ingres's plan of
the
publishing
ruins of Cori had
any result. More
recently plans for
restoring the socalled temple of
Hercules made
by V. Blavette
when he was a
member of the
French Academy
iin Rome were
in a
included
work which was
brought out in
:.......
14,
::.:,t.p"
itI:
905 un-
der the direction
of H.. d'Espouy:
Fragments d'architecture antique,
d'apres les releves
et restaurationsdes
anciens pensionnaires de l'Academie
me de
de France
France a
At the time of
,
his second direc::::-::
,
.
.. . -^n,- AS
.
in
Rome,
orship
from 1835 until
A letter in Italian from Ingres I78o0-867), about half actual
I840, Ingres essize. Croppedat the left and botto077i. Gift of Samuel P. Avery, L9g6
Rome.
tablished a course
It is entirely
in archaeology at the Academy given by A.
that
the
Director's
probable
request was not well
.
.
author
of
.
de'
dintorni
Analisi
di
received
at
the
French Academy
Vatican.
The
Roma,
Nibby,
in
of
the
ruins
the
town
and
and
the
in
Rome had very
French
Cori,
including
Embassy
it is possible that the letter was written at Nibby's
real difficulties with the papal administration,
suggestion. Interest in the monuments of Cori, a and the work of students reconstructing the plan
of Trajan's Forum or making copies in the Sisvery ancient city of Latium, in the territory
the
had
been
stimulated
tine
Volscians,
conquered by
Chapel was not looked upon with favor. But
the
of
Piranesi's
di
Cora
in
Antichita
the
end Ingres's tenacity usually won out.
publication
by
232