Art Institute of Chicago

The Little Park

Jean-Honoré Fragonard

Date

c. 1763

Medium

Etching in black on cream laid paper

Culture

France

Department

Prints and Drawings

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

Fragonard spent the summer of 1760 at the Villa d’Este in Tivoli, where he produced several renowned red chalk drawings of the gardens. For over two centuries, it was assumed that The Little Park , one of the artist’s most popular etchings, was part of the Tivoli series, but visitors to the Italian estate could never find the exact vantage point from which he could have drawn the composition. A recent study of Fragonard’s oeuvre revealed that the artist copied, with great accuracy, the two large trees, balustrade, and cypress from one of the 1760 sketches. The sculptures, grotto, and building are wholly invented. As in much of his work, Fragonard prioritized the depiction of nature, employing the geometry of architectural details to anchor the wild verdant canopy and undergrowth and provide a place of respite.

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