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Ruggiero and Alcina at the Bath
Jean Honoré Fragonard French
Not on view
In the epic poem Orlando Furioso, Ruggiero, a Saracen warrior in King Agramante’s army, is abducted by a hippogriff (a mythical winged beast) and transported to the island of a sorceress named Alcina. He falls under her spell and succumbs to the sensual pleasures of her palace—forgetting his chaste love for Bradamante, a Christian warrior-maiden in Emperor Charlemagne’s army.
This drawing, one of several that Fragonard dedicated to the lovers’ idyll, conjures the voluptuous languor of the enchanted isle. Alcina steps gingerly into a bath, where Ruggiero waits with open arms. Delicate, cursory strokes of brown wash describe her flowing hair, the curves of her thighs, and the plump winged putti by her side. The columned pavilion and attendant members of Alcina’s court are only roughly indicated.
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