 Frustrated by his inability to capture his subject , Ingres broke down in tears in his studio , in company . Bertin recalled " <unk> him : ' my dear Ingres , don 't <unk> about me ; and above all don 't <unk> yourself like that . You want to start my portrait over again ? Take your own time for it . You will never tire me , and just as long as you want me to come , I am at your orders . ' " After agreeing to a breathing spell Ingres finally settled on a design . Early biographers provide differing anecdotes regarding the inspiration for the distinctive seated pose . Henri Delaborde said Ingres observed Bertin in this posture while arguing politics after dinner with his sons . According to Eugène Emmanuel <unk> <unk> ( he said was related to him by Bertin ) , Ingres noticed a pose Bertin took while seated outside with Ingres and a third man at a café . 
