Jean-Honoré Fragonard Grasse 1732 - 1806 Paris

Marie-Anne Dupuy-Vachey, Fragonard et le 'Roland Furieux', Paris 2003, pp. 148-149, reproduced fig. 59

This is one of the group of drawings Fragonard made illustrating scenes from Ariosto's epic poem, Orlando Furioso. About 160 drawings are known, 137 of which shared a provenance from Hippolyte Walfredin, who may have bought them from Fragonard's heirs, and passed eventually to  Dr. A.S.W. Rosenbach in Philadelphia before being dispersed. They are published and discussed in E. Mongan, P. Hofer and J. Seznec, Fragonard Drawings for Ariosto, London 1945. The present study is not from that group, but is similar in size, technique and format. The series has generally been dated to the 1780s, but appears not to have been commissioned or intended for publication. The drawings are exceptionally lively and inventive in composition and execution and adhere closely to the text of the poem.