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In February 2013, some new personalities set foot in the Lyon Museum of Fine Arts.
L'Arétin et l'Envoyé de Charles Quint feature alongside 19th century collections
in a canvas painted in 1848 by Ingres.
This painting represents Arétin, a 16th century Italian writer
who is welcoming an envoy sent by emperor Charles Quint.
the emperor wanted to buy his silence following a scandal. The writer was well-known for speaking freely to powerful people,
The writer looks on this offer with contempt.
Ingres identifies with him as he appeals to his own sense of freedom.
And Ingres peppers his painting with details of 16th century Venetian life.
You can see several paintings within the painting:
a portrait of Titien can be seen on the left,
a landscape, a *** and Child, and especially two female nudes
who are opening the curtains on the bed to take part in the scene.
The writer was reputed for his libertine ways.
For the first visitors who saw this painting,
the same questions come again and again.
Visitors are surprised by the painting's small size.
They are stunned by the vivid colours, the yellow, the orange.
Ingres seeks lines, arabesques, to put his composition together.
He freely deforms the characters' body parts,
like here with the Envoy's arms, which don't appear natural.
However, the curved lines created by these anomalies
are found elsewhere in the painting and bring its sense of harmony.