The Armoire

Jean Honoré Fragonard

1778 · Etching, first state of four · Drawings and Prints

L'armoire, one of Fragonard's largest and most skillful etchings, became hugely popular as soon as its sale was announced in the Journal de Paris in November 1778. The composition is dominated by two furious parents who, in a rush of movement, fling open a cupboard door to reveal their daughter's embarrassed lover. The unmade bed on the right and the strategic placing of the young man's hat offer further evidence of the amorous nature of the interrupted encounter. Fragonard enlivened the amusing scene with his spirited and confident handling of the etching needle and brilliantly achieved rich tonal effects with a complex and varied system of lines and hatching.

Artist

Jean Honoré Fragonard

Date

1778

Medium

Etching, first state of four

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

Purchase, Roland L. Redmond Gift, Louis V. Bell and Rogers Funds, 1972