ticketsMember | Make a donation

Rinaldo in the Enchanted Forest

ca. 1763
Not on view
This boldly handled and beautifully preserved drawing by Fragonard illustrates a scene from canto 18 of Torquato Tasso's epic poem Jerusalem Delivered, published in 1581. The poem was a highly fictionalized and fantastic account of the First Crusade in 1099. In this scene, Rinaldo, a Christian knight on his way to the Holy Land, is detained by the pagan enchantress Armida until two of his fellow knights break the spell. Fragonard's drawing imagines the decisive moment of Rinaldo's victory, as he brandishes his sword overhead in the act of chopping down Armida's massive myrtle tree, thereby dispelling its enchantments.
This sheet was made soon after Fragonard returned to Paris after having spent five years in Rome, from 1756 to 1761. Exposure to the masters of the Italian Baroque led him to move beyond his early style, which had been indebted to the sweet Rococo manner of his teacher François Boucher, and to endow his figures and compositions with a new energy and dynamism. Along with this stylistic shift emerged a marked predilection for sketchlike canvases and large, painterly drawings.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Rinaldo in the Enchanted Forest
  • Artist: Jean Honoré Fragonard (French, Grasse 1732–1806 Paris)
  • Date: ca. 1763
  • Medium: Brush and brown wash over very light black chalk underdrawing
  • Dimensions: 13 3/16 × 18 in. (33.5 × 45.7 cm)
  • Classification: Drawings
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Louis V. Bell, Harris Brisbane Dick, Fletcher, and Rogers Funds and Joseph Pulitzer Bequest; Guy Wildenstein Gift; The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund; Kristin Gary Fine Art Gift; and funds from various donors, 2009
  • Object Number: 2009.236
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

More Artwork

More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
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

Related Content

Perspectives

Articles, audio, and video from The Met's online magazine.

Timeline of Art History

Entries from The Met's art encyclopedia.

Publications

Books, guides, and catalogues published by The Met.

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.