拍品 50
  • 50

JEAN-HONORÉ FRAGONARD | A scene from Ariosto's Orlando Furioso: Ruggiero blinds the sailors of Alcine with his magic shield

估價
30,000 - 40,000 USD
招標截止

描述

  • Jean-Honoré Fragonard
  • A scene from Ariosto's Orlando Furioso: Ruggiero blinds the sailors of Alcine with his magic shield
  • Black chalk and point of the brush and brown and gray wash, within partial black chalk framing lines
  • 394 by 259 mm; 15 1/2  by 10 1/4  in

來源

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 Ltd, London, in 1922;
sold en bloc to Dr. A.S. Rosenbach, Philadelphia, who dispersed the set;
Arthur Houghton;
with Thos. Agnew and Sons Ltd, 1978;
Private Collection, UK

出版

E. Morgan, P. Hofer and J. Seznec, Fragonard Drawings for Ariosto, London 1945, p. 69, pl. 59
M.-A. Dupuy-Vachey, Fragonard et le Roland Furieux, Paris 2003, pp. 202-203, no. 86, reproduced p. 203

Condition

Hinged to the mount at the upper margin Overall in good condition. Light staining at the four corners of the sheet and slight discoloration evident around the margins. Otherwise chalk and wash still strong and vibrant. Sold framed.
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.

拍品資料及來源

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 16th-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 16th 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.

This drawing illustrates Canto X, verse 50 where Ruggiero stands at the helm of his boat and raises his magic shield towards the sailors of Alcine, dazzling them with light and blinding them.  Fragonard sets the scene by illustrating the boat emerging from the lower left of his composition, oars in motion as it glides across the seas towards the sailors.  Fragonard's blend of chalk and wash simulate rough seas and add to the sense of bewilderment and suspense.   In the centre of the composition is the magic shield from which Fragonard draws chalk lines to imitate rays of light which are aimed at the sailors. 

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. 

See also lot 53 for another drawing from this series.

1. Dupuy-Vachey, op. cit., p. 11