Jean-Honoré Fragonard (Grasse 1732-1806 Paris)
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Jean-Honoré Fragonard (Grasse 1732-1806 Paris)

Cupid and Psyche, after Giulio Romano

Details
Jean-Honoré Fragonard (Grasse 1732-1806 Paris)
Cupid and Psyche, after Giulio Romano
with inscription 'Jules Romain Palais du Té à Mantoue.'
black chalk
7 7/8 x 11 in. (198 x 276 mm.)
Special notice
No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 15% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.

Lot Essay

This unpublished drawing combines two motives taken from different frescoes by Giulio Romano at Palazzo Te in Mantua: The Nuptial Banquet in the Sala di Psiche and the representation of the astrological sign of Virgo in the Sala dei Venti.
The drawing was made by Fragonard during his short stay in Mantua with the Abbé de Saint-Non on 5-6 July 1761. Although the two travellers were clearly impressed by Giulio Romano's work, only a few drawings by Fragonard after the paintings of Palazzo Te are documented (P. Rosenberg and B. Brejon de Lavergnée, Panopticon italiano. Un diario di viaggio ritrovato 1759-1761, Rome, 1986, nos. 249-53).
The present drawing is of particular interest as Fragonard has not simply copied two different motives but has rearranged them in order to create his own original composition.

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