Bradamante Tries to Catch Hold of the Hippogryph [recto]

1780s

Jean-Honoré Fragonard

Associated Names
Jean Honoré Fragonard

Artist, French, 1732 - 1806

This is a drawing of equestrian figures amidst swirling clouds and dynamic lines. The scene is monochromatic with flowing lines and shading. The composition features horses rearing and figures in motion within an atmospheric cloudscape. The style resembles Giovanni Battista Tiepolo's dynamic compositions and expressive linework. The drawing conveys energy, movement, and a sense of action or conflict, typical of Tiepolo's work, with subtle shading and line variations adding depth and complexity.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    black chalk with brown and gray wash on laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Gift of Edith G. Rosenwald

  • Dimensions

    overall: 38.6 x 24.6 cm (15 3/16 x 9 11/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1978.10.5.a

Associated Artworks

The image is a sketch showing a person sitting on a horse. The person is drawn from head to mid-torso, including parts of the horse's outline. The individual is wearing a tricorn hat, with flowing hair and lightly sketched facial features. The person is wearing a coat and holding a long object in their right hand while the left hand is raised. The background is a blank canvas with slight texture.

Man on a Horse [verso]

Jean Honoré Fragonard

1732

Artwork history & notes

Exhibition History

1945

  • A Loan Exhibition of 52 Drawings for Ariosto's "Orlando Furioso" by Fragonard. Phillips Memorial Gallery, Washington, 1945, no. 22.

1946

  • Illustrations to the Poems of Ariosto and Tasso. Smith College Museum of Art, Northampton, MA, 1946, no. 23.

2009

  • Renaissance to Revolution: French Drawings from the National Gallery of Art, 1500-1800. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 2009, 210-212, 288, no. 92a (color).

Bibliography

1877

  • Portalis, Baron Roger de. Les dessinateurs d'illustrations au 18e siècle. 2 parts in 4 vols. Paris, 1877, 1 (pt. 2): 222-223, 228.

1889

  • Portalis, Baron Roger de. Fragonard. Sa vie et son oeuvre. 2 vols. Paris, 1889: 2: 214-215, 311.

1912

  • Cohen, Henri. Guide de l'amateur de livres à gravures de XVIIIe siècle. 6th ed., rev. and augmented by Seymour de Ricci_. Paris, 1912: col. 97.

    .

1923

  • Ricci, Seymour de. The Roederer Library of French Books, Prints, and Drawings of the 18th Century. Philadelphia, 1923: n.p. [11-12].

1945

  • Mongan, Elizabeth, Philip Hofer, and Jean Seznec. Fragonard: Drawings for Ariosto. New York, 1945: pl. 23.

1987

  • Cuzin, Jean-Pierre. Jean-Honoré Fragonard, Vie et oeuvre, Catalogue complet des peintures. (Fribourg, 1987): 225, fig. 280.

2003

  • Dupuy-Vachey, Marie-Anne. Fragonard et le Roland Furieux. Paris, 2003: 96-97, 380, no. 33.

Watermarks

Circle with crown (unidentified)

Wikidata ID

Q64581225

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