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Vertumnus and Pomona

Not on view
Boucher depicts here a well-known story from Ovid's Metamorphoses. Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit, was so devoted to her orchards that she took no notice of suitors. The god Vertumnus transformed himself into the form of a ragged old woman to gain her confidence. Boucher was fond of the subject and had already portrayed it on several occasions, including an overdoor for the royal Château de la Muette in 1749, a design for the Beauvais tapestry manufactory in 1757, and within an oval medallion for the Gobelins tapestries woven beginning in 1764 for Croome Court. In his virtuouso manner of handling the chalk, Boucher is here akin to Jean-Honoré Fragonard, his most famous student.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Vertumnus and Pomona
  • Artist: François Boucher (French, Paris 1703–1770 Paris)
  • Medium: Brown chalk
  • Dimensions: 13 9/16 x 8 15/16 in. (34.5 x 22.7 cm)
  • Classification: Drawings
  • Credit Line: Gift of Mrs. O'Donnell Hoover, 1960
  • Object Number: 60.176.2
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

More Artwork

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Young Girl with a Boy and a Dog, François Boucher French, Red chalk.
Young Girl with a Boy and a Dog
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Drawing for "La Colonne Trajane", François Boucher French, Red chalk
Drawing for "La Colonne Trajane"
François Boucher
18th century
Drawing for "La Colonne Trajane", François Boucher French, Red chalk
Drawing for "La Colonne Trajane"
François Boucher
18th century
Collection of Fountains (Receuil de Fontaines)
François Boucher
Chez Huquier
before 1736
Study of a peasant man and woman, from Livre d'Étude d'après les Desseins Originaux de Blomart Gravé Par Francois Boucher peintre De l'Academie Royale (Book of Studies after Original Designs by Blomart Engraved [Etched] by Francois Boucher painter of the Royal Academy), plate 10
François Boucher
Abraham Bloemaert
18th century

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