Toulouse, France 1776

An unmarried, 23-year old candle maker in the French city of Toulouse was welcoming a late evening supper at his home with the rest of his family. That night, the Simonieux family gracefully received their guest, a locally renowned decorator and draftsman by the name of Jean-Marie-Joseph Ingres. After the day's work in his father's candle shop in the heat of that early August season, Pierre-François had combed his wavy brown hair, which was fashionably tied with a large red bow and hung neatly as a medium-length queue tail in back. Proud to look presentable, his dark blue waistcoat complimented the ruffles of his fine chemise shirt and his slightly tanned, Mediterranean-type complexion. Despite the humid air of the dining room, the young man showed standard European dignity for the gentleman guest by keeping his waistcoat on as a gesture of esteem. His deep brown eyes seemed to match the distinctive cleft in his chin right below his handsomely shaped lips. The appearance of his oval-shaped face was exceptionally different from the lavishly painted, pale white mode of the Parisian dandies of the day. In addition to what they looked like physically, the Simonieux family was and would be placed in the category of the "bourgeosie" – the French middle class – a position that would in the next few years hold notorious political significance.

Also seated at the dining table were his 19-year old sister Babette, his 20-year old brother Jacques, his older brother Rémy and his young wife Étienne, and his father and mother, Jean-Louis and Hélène. To a considerable degree, Babette, with her long, regal nose and an almost heart-like shape to her mouth resembled her mother, who was told by acquaintances at social gatherings that she had a face similar to that of some of the female statues sculpted in ancient Greece. The young men in the family resembled their father, except for Jacques, whose facial features were a perfect blend of those of both parents. His innocent boyish physical appearance and mannerisms inspired many who met him to believe he was a gentle poet, by type, and girls from his school days were noticed to fawn over him. The youngest in the family, Marie Simonieux tragically died in a carriage accident at the age of twelve three years before. Jacques, who worked alongside Pierre-François making candles was in the process of preparing for marriage to the daughter of a local wine merchant and having to wait until her family's return from Poland on business. Rumors that Jacques's previous wife had died when they were both seventeen years old had contracted syphillus from another young man in the city were untrue. The fact was that the unfortunate girl passed away from an unexplainable blood disease. Rémy's wife was pregnant with their third child and the couple was financially satisfied with Rémy's trade as the vendor of the candles that Pierre-François and Jacques had so faithfully and skillfully produced.

Though their generations-old proprietorship was rarely troubled, the Simonieux family was not without its domestic concerns. Pleasingly pretty Babette had spent a whopping two years fending off a 26 year-old suitor who supposedly had fallen in love with her but she had absolutely no interest in him. She considered him too old and not pleasant to look at. Rather than silversmith Jean-Luc Charbois who could and wanted to enhance the beauty of the Simonieux candles for sale with his ornate candleholders, an Italian boy from the well-known Toulouse orchestra was who her heart yearned for. The two had met at a musical performance they were invited to by Monsieur Ingres, who had a great fondness for the music of the times and wanted to influence the Simonieux family members to become as emotionally moved by the symphonies as much as he was. Typical mother-daughter bickering in the Simonieux household included the subject of Babette's habit of running off to see her music-loving beau while Jean-Luc is left standing at the doorway.

Details of Babette's lover were not necessarily kept secret. The young violinist had little to impress her with other than a story that he was once personally applauded by Antonio Solieri – Austria's royal court composer who would attain notoriety as the unsuccessful rival to the great Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. To improve the charm of the story, he emphasized the coincidence of the Austrian emperor being the brother of Queen Marie Antoinette. To criticize the love affair, Madame Simonieux insisted that the story was a falsehood.

Then there was the matter of Pierre-François. Given his age and social environment, he was the strange case of a robust young Frenchman who was not yet in love. His nature of character would have seen it fit to make it known if or when he was. His mother was all but ashamed that as many as fourteen proper, beautiful women had expressed desire for his affections to no avail. Both his mother and father had been in the process of attempting to "push" him into marriage by creatively employing their own circle of friends to help them do it. Relatives of the Simonieux family became exaspirated from doing the same for him when he was in his late teens. The family's attachment to the Church was also a factor. Formal visits, called "rencontres" with well-mannered, gorgeously-dressed Catholic Frenchwomen, one at a time, would be the order of sporatic evenings at home, each with him wondering what friend or business collegue had set it up beforehand. He never knew when he would be faced with an invitation to court a new, unknown young lady after a typical day's work of candle making. Every time, he showed his best behavior as if for Sunday mass no matter what kind of mood he was in. An eager young lady who was admiring his face during a dainty yet elegant dinner simulated infatuation with him by failing to partake of the beautiful meal and stared into his eyes instead. He was not shy about saying a few words about how pretty she was, even if merely to go along with what was expected of him. However, he resented that a helping of such good food was wasted, and he gently scolded her that just because he acknowledged her beauty openly did not necessarily mean he was reciprocating her interest in him. He was glad that not all had exaggerated the potential for a courtship with him, and very few had been foolish enough to shamelessly pursue him after their charms were ignored. He had shown manly interest in none, however the gallantry his cultural breeding called for was not lost on his small tokens of appreciation bestowed upon the ladies. In accordance with regional customs normal for the times, his man-to-woman letters of rejection along with the "thank you-but-no thank you" gifts were flowery and somewhat vague – an approach that would have confused and worsened the heartbreak of someone coming from English tradition. The names and faces of every one of the women were soon forgotten. As he reassured the family that he was not against the idea of getting married, especially in regards to marriage as a holy sacrament, his parents had no intention of giving up.

They were quick to look to their guest for assistance. It would not be unheard of for the artistically talented Monsieur Ingres to send to them for him available young lady students of the drawing class he was teaching. Even though he had recently moved to the nearby village of Montauban, they continued to invite each other to every special occasion such as weddings, baby christenings, and Christmas frolics. He had also been present at the solemn funeral and burial of Marie. The Simonieux family had known him over many years first as a regular customer of their candle wares and then as a good, trustworthy friend. The social sitting room, called "le salon" of the Simonieux home still displayed the miniature portraits of the Monsieur, Madame, and their children, all hand-painted by Joseph-Marie, free of charge. With nearly every other house guest they ever had since, Pierre-François showed the portaits as among the most prized possessions of the family. As Monsieur Ingres loved to talk about his fine work, he openly planned on getting married himself and especially elaborated that he would stop at nothing to raise a boy of his own to be a magnificent artist.