 Ingres ' early career coincided with the Romantic movement , which reacted against the prevailing neoclassical style . Neoclassicism in French art had developed as artists saw themselves as part of the cultural center of Europe , and France as the successor to Rome . Romantic painting was freer and more expressive , preoccupied more with colour than with line or form , and more focused on style than on subject matter . Paintings based on classical themes fell out of fashion , replaced by contemporary rather than historical subject matter , especially in portraiture . Ingres resisted this trend , and wrote , " The history painter shows the species in general ; while the portrait painter represents only the specific individual — a model often ordinary and full of shortcomings . " From his early career , Ingres ' main source of income was commissioned portraits , a genre he dismissed as lacking in grandeur . The success of his The Vow of Louis XIII at the 1824 Salon marked an abrupt change in his fortunes : he received a series of commissions for large history paintings , and for the next decade he painted few portraits . His financial difficulties behind him , Ingres could afford to concentrate on historical subjects , although he was highly sought @-@ after as a portraitist . He wrote in 1847 , " Damned portraits , they are so difficult to do that they prevent me getting on with greater things that I could do more quickly . " 
 Ingres <a href='null_genetive' title='1'><mark>'</mark></a>early career coincided with the Romantic movement , which reacted against the prevailing neoclassical style . Neoclassicism in French art <a href='been_done' title='2'><mark>had</mark></a> developed as artists saw themselves as part of the cultural center of Europe , and France as the successor to Rome . Romantic painting was freer and more expressive , preoccupied more with colour than with line or form , and more focused on style than on subject matter . Paintings based on classical themes fell out of fashion , replaced by contemporary rather than historical subject matter , especially in portraiture . Ingres resisted this trend , and wrote , " The history painter <a href='uninflect' title='3'><mark>shows</mark></a> the species in general ; while the portrait painter <a href='uninflect' title='4'><mark>represents</mark></a> only the specific individual — a model often ordinary and full of shortcomings . " From his early career , Ingres <a href='null_genetive' title='5'><mark>'</mark></a>main source of income was commissioned portraits , a genre he dismissed as lacking in grandeur . The success of his The Vow of Louis XIII at the 1824 Salon marked an abrupt change in his fortunes : he received a series of commissions for large history paintings , and for the next decade he painted few portraits . His financial difficulties behind him , Ingres could afford to concentrate on historical subjects , although he was highly sought @-@ after as a portraitist . He wrote in 1847 , " Damned portraits , they are so difficult to do that they prevent me getting on with greater things <a href='null_relcl' title='6'><mark>that</mark></a>I could do more quickly . " 
Ingres  early career coincided with the Romantic movement , which reacted against the prevailing neoclassical style . Neoclassicism in French art done developed as artists saw themselves as part of the cultural center of Europe , and France as da successor to Rome . Romantic painting was freer and more expressive , preoccupied more with colour den with line or form , and more focused on style than on subject matter . Paintings based on classical themes fell outt of fashion , replaced by contemporary rather than historical subject matter , especially in portraiture . Ingres resisted this trend , and wrote , " Tdahistory painter show the species in general ; while the portrait painter represent only thdapecific individual — a model often ordinary and full of shortcomings . " From his early career , Ingres  main source of income was commissioned portraits , a genre he dismissed as lacking in grandeur . The success of his The Vow of Louis XIII at theda24 Salon marked an abrupt change in his fortunes : he received a series of commissions for large history paintings , and fa the next decade he painted few portraits . His financial difficulties behind em , Ingres could afford to concentrate on historical subjects , although he was highly sought @-@ after as a portraitist . He wrote in 1847 , " Damned portraits , they are soo difficult to do that they prevent me getting on with greater things I could do more quickly . "