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Seated Man Reading

1774
Not on view
This confident drawing of a seated man absorbed in his book is closely related to a group of portraitlike drawings made by Fragonard on his second trip to Italy (1773–74) sponsored by the fermier général Pierre-Jacques-Onésyme Bergeret de Grancourt. Drawn in a rapid, confident outline and shaded to convey tone and shadow, this drawing presents its subject with an admirable economy of means. Oddly cropped at the ankle, the sitter may have been observed by the artist across a table and partially obscured. The unconventional composition attests to the informality of the sheet.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Seated Man Reading
  • Artist: Jean Honoré Fragonard (French, Grasse 1732–1806 Paris)
  • Date: 1774
  • Medium: Red chalk
  • Dimensions: 13 3/8 x 9 3/16 in. (34 x 23.3 cm)
  • Classification: Drawings
  • Credit Line: Gift of Mrs. Howard J. Sachs and Mr. Peter G. Sachs, in memory of Miss Edith L. Sachs, 1978
  • Object Number: 1978.516.1
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

More Artwork

More Artwork
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Danse de satyres, Jean Honoré Fragonard French, Etching, first state
Danse de satyres
Jean Honoré Fragonard
n.d.
The Vision of Saint Jerome, Jean Honoré Fragonard French, Etching, first state
The Vision of Saint Jerome
Jean Honoré Fragonard
Johann Liss
1763–64
Bacchante et jeune satyre, Jean Honoré Fragonard French, Etching
Bacchante et jeune satyre
Jean Honoré Fragonard
n.d.
Bacchanale - Satyr and Nymph with Infant and Infant Satyr, Jean Honoré Fragonard French, Etching, second state
Bacchanale - Satyr and Nymph with Infant and Infant Satyr
Jean Honoré Fragonard
n.d.
The Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine, Jean Honoré Fragonard French, Black chalk counterproof, re-worked in black chalk
The Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine
Jean Honoré Fragonard
Mattia Preti (Il Cavalier Calabrese)
ca. 1761

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