Don Quixote about to Strike the Helmet

1780s

Jean-Honoré Fragonard

Associated Names
Jean Honoré Fragonard

Artist, French, 1732 - 1806

The image shows a person in a dynamic pose, swinging a sword. The individual is standing with legs apart, one arm raised above their head holding the sword, and the other resting on their hip. The facial features are sketched with strong lines, and the hair appears pulled back. The person is wearing historical or costume-like clothing, including a loose top, possibly a vest, and trousers tucked into boots. Nearby objects include a helmet on a stand or stool, and a round shield leaning against furniture. The background features arched structures, possibly representing the interior of a room with a cluttered appearance.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    brush with brown and gray washes over charcoal on laid paper, laid down

  • Credit Line

    Gift of Gertrude Laughlin Chanler

  • Dimensions

    overall: 39.8 x 27.4 cm (15 11/16 x 10 13/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    2000.9.6

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Probably Baron Dominique-Vivant Denon, Paris, by 1795, one of 19 Don Quixote illustrations by Fragonard owned by him (sale, Paris, 1826, no. 728 [the group]); to Delaunay. Lt. Col. E. W. Blunt Mackenzie, Castle Leod, Strathpeffer, Scotland (sale, Sotheby's, London, 26 July 1933, no. 91); The Hon. Irwin Boyle Laughlin, Washington, D.C.(not in Lugt), 1933; his wife, Therese Iselin Laughlin, Washington, D.C., 1941; their daughter, Gertrude Laughlin Chanler, New York; gift to NGA, 2000.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1982

  • Eighteenth Century Drawings from the Collection of Mrs. Gertrude Laughlin Chanler, NGA, Washington, D.C., 1982, no. 7.

2000

  • Drawings and Prints from the Permanent Collection (Summer 2000), National Gallery of Art, Washington, 2000 (no catalogue).

2007

  • Fragonard, Les plaisirs d'un siècle. Musée Jacquemart-André, Paris, 2007-2008, no. 72 (Marie-Anne Dupuy-Vachez).

Bibliography

1889

  • Portalis, Baron Roger. Fragonard. Sa vie et son oeuvre. 2 vols. Paris, 1889: 2:215, 299.

1961

  • Ananoff, Alexandre. "Alexandre-Evariste Fragonard et son père." Bulletin de la Société de l'Histoire de l'Art Français (1961): 155-157 (the series as A. E. Fragonard).

  • Ananoff, Alexandre. L'oeuvre dessiné de Jean-Honoré Fragonard (1732 - 1806). 4 vols. Paris, 1961-1970: 4:no. 2667 (the series as A. E. Fragonard).

1987

  • Rosenberg, Pierre. Fragonard. Exh. cat. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1987: 499-500 (the series).

Inscriptions

verso: stamped by French Customs

Wikidata ID

Q64581236

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