View of a Park
Jean Honoré Fragonard
ca. 1757–59 · Black chalk, brush and gray wash, touches of black and brown wash; framing lines in pen and black ink · Drawings and Prints
Having won a student competition in Paris, Fragonard was awarded four years of study at the Académie de France in Rome. Made not long after his arrival, this theatrical landscape drawing displays a hybrid of influences. His early training in Boucher’s studio is evident in the feathery trees and charming genre figures, including the woman pushing a wheelbarrow and the man peering over a fence. Scattered throughout the composition are various architectural motifs—a palatial staircase, columned temples, and a statue of an ancient Roman goddess—that reflect his exposure to the gardens of Italy.
- Artist
- Jean Honoré Fragonard
- Date
- ca. 1757–59
- Medium
- Black chalk, brush and gray wash, touches of black and brown wash; framing lines in pen and black ink
- Department
- Drawings and Prints
- Credit line
- Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1952
