Roman Interior

Jean Honoré Fragonard French

Not on view


Fragonard probably painted this scene toward the end of his first trip to Italy. His impetuous technique falls between the usual stages of preparatory sketch and finished work (though this painting’s surface has also suffered wear). Like his contemporary Hubert Robert, Fragonard was fascinated by how eighteenth-century Romans occupied the remains of the city’s unrestored, ancient ruins: here, a bustling laundry has been improvised amidst enormous, antique columns and a sacrificial altar.

Roman Interior, Jean Honoré Fragonard (French, Grasse 1732–1806 Paris), Oil on canvas

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