- 115
Jean-Honoré Fragonard
Estimate
14,000 - 18,000 USD
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Description
- Jean-Honoré Fragonard
- The Prisoner
- Point of the brush and brown wash over black chalk within pen and brown ink framing lines
- 9 1/8 x 6 7/8 inches
Provenance
Possibly A. Greverath,
by whose Estate sold, Paris, Hôtel Drouot, 7-10 April 1856, lot 298;
François-Hippolyte Walferdin, Paris,
by whose Estate sold, Paris, Hôtel Drouot, 12-16 April 1880, p. 70, lot 234;
Alfred Busquet;
Private Collection,
from whom acquired by the present owner in 1967
by whose Estate sold, Paris, Hôtel Drouot, 7-10 April 1856, lot 298;
François-Hippolyte Walferdin, Paris,
by whose Estate sold, Paris, Hôtel Drouot, 12-16 April 1880, p. 70, lot 234;
Alfred Busquet;
Private Collection,
from whom acquired by the present owner in 1967
Literature
R. Portalis, Honoré Fragonard, sa vie et son oeuvre, Paris 1889, p. 310;
A. Ananoff, L'Oeuvre dessiné de Jean-Honoré Fragonard, vol. II, Paris 1963, p. 81, no. 762, vol. III, Paris 1968, p. 59, no. 1318, p. 327, no. 762, vol. IV, Paris, 1970, p. 377, no. 762
A. Ananoff, L'Oeuvre dessiné de Jean-Honoré Fragonard, vol. II, Paris 1963, p. 81, no. 762, vol. III, Paris 1968, p. 59, no. 1318, p. 327, no. 762, vol. IV, Paris, 1970, p. 377, no. 762
Condition
Laid down. Overall in good condition. Sheet relatively free from staining - some very light staining around the edges of sheet. Medium remains fresh.
Sold in a carved and gilded frame
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.
Catalogue Note
An unusually sombre and reflective image for Fragonard, it is tempting to speculate that both the subject and the mood of the present drawing must be in some way related to the Revolution, and that it should therefore be considered a late work, from the late 1780s. Even some years earlier than this, Fragonard did occasionally depart from his characteristic lightness of mood, such as in two powerful drawings of The Dream of Plutarch, which seem to have been executed circa 1778-80,1 but all the same, images of this type remain rare in his work.
1 Paris, Private Collection, and Tournus, Musée Greuze; see P. Rosenberg, Fragonard, exh. cat., Paris, Grand Palais, and New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1987-88, pp. 504-6, nos. 253-4