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Foliage Study: Branches of a Chestnut Tree

ca. 1765
Not on view
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.
This sheet records the branches of a chestnut tree heavy with leaves and nuts. The study was likely inspired by the instruction of Charles Joseph Natoire, director of the Académie de France in Rome, who emphasized the importance of directly observing nature. In Fragonard’s studies of individual trees or masses of foliage, however, he was less interested in rendering botanical accuracy than in capturing the effects of light and the textures of leaves with stylized strokes of red chalk.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Foliage Study: Branches of a Chestnut Tree
  • Artist: Jean Honoré Fragonard (French, Grasse 1732–1806 Paris)
  • Date: ca. 1765
  • Medium: Red chalk
  • Dimensions: 12 13/16 × 16 1/8 in. (32.5 × 40.9 cm)
  • Classification: Drawings
  • Credit Line: Private collection
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints