The artwork titled “Caroline Murat, Queen of Naples” is an exquisite oil on canvas portrait completed in 1814 by the renowned artist Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres. This piece exemplifies the Neoclassical art movement and measures 92 cm by 60 cm. It is a genre portrait, which is currently held in a private collection. The artwork portrays Caroline Murat with an air of regal elegance, characteristic of Ingres’s precise and polished style.
In the artwork, Caroline Murat is depicted standing in front of an open window, through which one observes a striking view of a shoreline and a smoking volcano in the distance, likely Mount Vesuvius. This scenic backdrop imbues the portrait with a sense of grandeur and situates the figure within her geographical realm as the Queen of Naples. The queen is dressed in a lavish black dress adorned with luxurious fabrics and a feathered headdress, which adds to her stately presence. Her facial expression conveys a mix of confidence and composed authority. The naturalistic rendering of the draperies and furnishings in the room, as well as the usage of light and shadow, add depth to the scene, demonstrating Ingres’s mastery of painting technique and composition. The careful attention to detail in the textures of the carpet and the reflective surfaces further underscore the artist’s skill in capturing the luxury and opulence befitting a monarch of her stature.
