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The Armoire

1778
Not on view
L'armoire, one of Fragonard's largest and most skillful etchings, became hugely popular as soon as its sale was announced in the Journal de Paris in November 1778. The composition is dominated by two furious parents who, in a rush of movement, fling open a cupboard door to reveal their daughter's embarrassed lover. The unmade bed on the right and the strategic placing of the young man's hat offer further evidence of the amorous nature of the interrupted encounter. Fragonard enlivened the amusing scene with his spirited and confident handling of the etching needle and brilliantly achieved rich tonal effects with a complex and varied system of lines and hatching.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: The Armoire
  • Artist: Jean Honoré Fragonard (French, Grasse 1732–1806 Paris)
  • Date: 1778
  • Medium: Etching, first state of four
  • Dimensions: Sheet: 16 15/16 × 22 5/16 in. (43 × 56.7 cm)
    Plate: 16 5/8 × 21 15/16 in. (42.3 × 55.7 cm)
    Image: 13 1/2 x 18 1/4 in. (34.3 x 46.3 cm)
  • Classification: Prints
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Roland L. Redmond Gift, Louis V. Bell and Rogers Funds, 1972
  • Object Number: 1972.539.2
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

More Artwork

More Artwork
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Danse de satyres, Jean Honoré Fragonard French, Etching, first state
Danse de satyres
Jean Honoré Fragonard
n.d.
The Vision of Saint Jerome, Jean Honoré Fragonard French, Etching, first state
The Vision of Saint Jerome
Jean Honoré Fragonard
Johann Liss
1763–64
Bacchante et jeune satyre, Jean Honoré Fragonard French, Etching
Bacchante et jeune satyre
Jean Honoré Fragonard
n.d.
Bacchanale - Satyr and Nymph with Infant and Infant Satyr, Jean Honoré Fragonard French, Etching, second state
Bacchanale - Satyr and Nymph with Infant and Infant Satyr
Jean Honoré Fragonard
n.d.
The Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine, Jean Honoré Fragonard French, Black chalk counterproof, re-worked in black chalk
The Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine
Jean Honoré Fragonard
Mattia Preti (Il Cavalier Calabrese)
ca. 1761

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