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The Inspiration of the Artist

Jean Honoré Fragonard French

Not on view

Many eighteenth-century artists, Fragonard among them, sought ways to depict artistic inspiration. Judging by its style, this variation on the theme appears to date to the mid-1760s, around the time he was seeking to establish a career as a history painter.
The protagonist leans back and covers his face with his hand, leaving the viewer to wonder: is he suffering from a lack of inspiration or an overabundance? Swirling around the periphery are the animals and mythological creatures that populate Fragonard’s drawings and paintings, especially those of literary and historical subjects. Only the cat that perches on the lower margin of the sheet seems to share the earthbound space of the artist.

The Inspiration of the Artist, Jean Honoré Fragonard (French, Grasse 1732–1806 Paris), Pen, brown ink, and wash over black chalk within pen and brown ink framing lines

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