Capriccio: Excavation of Roman Ruins

Fragonard imagines the excavation of Roman ruins in this lush watercolor drawing. A sculpture of a seated female deity presides over the scene, which is littered with architectural and sculptural fragments; the remains of a temple with a curved entablature and Corinthian columns form the backdrop. Here, Fragonard interprets the individual styles of fellow student Hubert Robert, known for his depictions of ruins, and Giovanni Paolo Panini, a professor at the Académie de France in Rome who specialized in architectural capriccios. As in Panini’s works, Fragonard’s scene is accessorized with staffage figures: on the left, bare-chested workers cart away excavated treasures; at the center of the composition, two men supervise the dig, while female figures look on from the right.