Jean-Honoré Fragonard

Hippolyte Walferdin, who probably bought the complete set of Fragonard's Ariosto drawings directly from the artist's family,
his sale, Paris, Hotel Drouot, 12-16 April 1880, part of lot 228 (bought by Roederer);
Louis Roederer, Rheims,
by descent to his nephew, Léon Olry-Roederer,
by whom consigned to Thos. Agnew and Sons, London, in 1922;
sold en bloc to Dr. A.S. Rosenbach, Philadelphia, who dispersed the set;
with Thomas Agnew & Co., London,
where acquired in 2006

E. Morgan, P. Hofer and J. Seznec, Fragonard Drawings for Ariosto, London 1945, no. 33;
M.-A. Dupuy-Vachey, Fragonard et le Roland Furieux, Paris 2003, p. 120, no. 45, reproduced p. 121

Hinge mounted in two places along the upper edge to a modern card backing. There is some very minor foxing and areas of surface dirt to the sheet and a small nick to the centre of the left edge and the lower right corner, as well as a small repaired hole to to the centre right of the sheet. There is a very narrow band of discolouration to the extremities of the sheet, most probably created by an old mount, though this does not detract from the overall aesthetic of the sheet. The medium remains fresh and vibrant throughout this impressively large sheet. Saold in a modern giltwood 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.

Lively and spirited, with a fervent application of chalk and wash, this vibrant drawing originates from a large group of studies that Fragonard executed, based on the 16^th-century epic poem Orlando Furioso, by Ludovico Ariosto.  The poem recounts a complex story of combats between Christians and Saracens, and the romances of the protagonists, and Fragonard clearly revelled in the visual possibilities of these exotic and exciting subjects, producing a magnificent series of at least 176 drawings illustrating Ariosto’s text.¹ The sheer number of drawings that survive highlights the amount of time that Fragonard must have dedicated to these compositions, and the important role they clearly played in his later career.  Generally dated to the 1780s, the stimulus for illustrating the verses of this poem still remains a mystery, as the drawings were never engraved.  Originally written for the Duke of Este at the court of Ferrara in the early 16^th Century, the poem underwent a revival in popularity two centuries later, when several lavishly illustrated editions of Ariosto’s text were published.  It is therefore perfectly possible that Fragonard made his drawings in connection with another such publishing project, and Marie-Anne Dupuy-Vachey has suggested that they might have been commissioned by the artist’s patron Bergeret de Grancourt or his son, Pierre Jacques. Yet at the same time, the drawings are all extremely freely executed, to the point that it is hard to imagine how they could ever have been used as the basis for prints, for which much more precise and easily read designs would have been more appropriate. 

The present drawing illustrates Canto VII, verse 22 and describes the moment Ruggiero is led to his bed chamber:

Soon, and much sooner than their wont, was ended
The game at which the palace inmates play:
When pages on the troop with torches tended,
And with their radiance chased the night away.
To seek his bed the paladin ascended,
Girt with that goodly squadron, in a gay
and airy bower, appointed for his rest,
Mid all the others chosen as the best²

Fragonard has perfectly captured the mood of the moment in the story that he has depicted, using quick but spirited strokes to denote the flickering of the candles, setting the atmosphere and indicating that evening has drawn in.  The figures of the young boys carrying the torches seamlessly echo the lines, ‘When pages on the troop with torches tended.’  Marie-Anne Dupuy-Vachey, in the introduction to her study of Fragonard’s Ariosto illustrations, remarks that Italo Calvino described ‘le Roland Furieux’ as 'Le Poème du movement,’ and that Fragonard must have had much the same reaction upon reading the verses of the poem.  She says of the series : ‘Du début à la fin une même énergie sous-tend chacune des pages.’³

The combination of chalk and wash, which Fragonard employed throughout all the drawings in this series, creates a sfumato effect, adding to the romance of the poem and giving each work a certain fantastical and dream-like quality. The drawings for Ariosto’s poem may remain an enigmatic part of Fragonard’s graphic oeuvre but they are undeniably some of the artist’s most expressive and passionate studies.

Hippolyte Walferdin (1795-1880), the first recorded owner of the Ariosto drawings, was an important French collector who owned many works by Boucher, Watteau, Greuze and Prud'hon, but had a special affinity for Fragonard. 

^1. Dupuy-Vachey, op. cit., p. 11

^2. Translation by William Stewart Rose (1775-1843); London edition of 1823-31

^3.  Dupuy-Vachey, op.cit., p. 11