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The Little Park

A work made of etching in black on cream laid paper.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A work made of etching in black on cream laid paper.

Date:

c. 1763

Artist:

Jean-Honoré Fragonard
French, 1732-1806

About this artwork

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.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Prints and Drawings

Artist

Jean Honoré Fragonard

Title

The Little Park

Place

France (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

Made 1761–1765

Medium

Etching in black on cream laid paper

Dimensions

Plate: 11.2 × 16.5 cm (4 7/16 × 6 1/2 in.); Sheet: 13.5 × 18.6 cm (5 3/8 × 7 3/8 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Dorothy Braude Edinburg to the Harry B. and Bessie K. Braude Memorial Collection

Reference Number

2013.530

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/129435/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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