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Orlando Leaves Paris in Disguise
Jean Honoré Fragonard French
Not on view
Orlando, the titular character in Orlando Furiosa, is Charlemagne’s nephew and a knight in his court. Having fallen in love with Angelica, a pagan princess, Orlando dreams one night that she is in mortal danger, and he wakes convinced that he must rescue her. The hero quickly dons his armor and steals away from his uncle’s palace before the sun rises.
This drawing captures Orlando’s sense of urgency as he nimbly climbs onto his horse, Brigliadoro. Fragonard renders the imposing structure of Charlemagne’s fortress with a degree of solidity unusual for the artist, detailing the heavy, chained wood portal beneath which Orlando escapes.
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