Returned to lender The Met accepts temporary loans of art both for short-term exhibitions and for long-term display in its galleries.
Landscape with Stormy Sky
Jean Honoré Fragonard French
Not on view
In this, one of two watercolor versions of the same composition, Fragonard’s fluid brushstrokes describe the eerie glow before a storm. As ominous clouds conspire above, a shepherd rushes to gather his flock and usher them to safety. Both sheets are charged with the same atmospheric drama—evocative of the sublime—though one sheet is more fully articulated than the other. In the larger work, the artist added more detail and contrast, not only in the rendering of the figures and the animals but also in the pointillist treatment of the branches and foliage, which stand out against the dark sky.
Due to rights restrictions, this image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.
