The Virgin with the Host
Oil on canvas, 40.3 x 32.7 cm, by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, 1852
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City

Ingres painted this devotional piece as a gift for his friend Louise Marcotte, who introduced him to Delphine Ramel, whom he married in 1852. The composition depicts the Virgin Mary behind an altar table, flanked by two saints adoring the Eucharist. It pays tribute to the tradition of intimate religious paintings, particularly those by Raphael from the early 1500s. This painting is a variant of an earlier work Ingres created in 1841 for the future Tsar Alexander II, which featured the Russian patron saints Alexander Nevsky and Nicholas. In the 1852 version, he replaced them with French saints, adapting the composition for its recipient. The painting reflects Ingres’ neoclassical style, defined by precise lines and a serene arrangement, demonstrating his command of classical techniques and religious subjects.

Provenance
Mme Charles Marcotte d'Argenteuil, 1852–62
Charles Marcotte d'Argenteuil, 1862–64
Joseph Marcotte, 1864–93
Mme Joseph Marcotte, née Paule Aguillon, 1893–1922
Mme Marcel Pougin de la Maisonneuve, née Marcotte, 1922–39
Marcel Pougin de la Maisonneuve, 1939–c. 1947
Wildenstein, London and New York, 1947–56
Henry Ford II, 1956–64
Anne McDonnell Ford, later Mrs Deane F. Johnson, 1964–at least 1982
Lila and Herman Shickman, c. 1985–2005
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2005

Source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2023.