Jean-Honoré FRAGONARD - Lot 52

Jean-Honoré FRAGONARD (Grasse 1732 - Paris 1806) Stormy weather Canvas 50 x 61 cm Provenance: Choiseul-Gouffier Choiseul-Gouffier Collection in 1783; Köhler-Schlumberger Collection, Mulhouse, 1960; Anonymous sale, Paris, Palais Galliera, (Mes Ader, Picard, Tajan), December 7, 1971, no. 13, reproduced; Anonymous sale, Paris, Théâtre des Champs Elysées, November 22 1987, (Mes Ader, Picard, Tajan). n°11, reproduced. Exhibitions: Salon de la Correspondance, Paris, 1783, no. 156 or 157, (Deux paysages avec figures d'hommes et d'animaux - a M. le Comte de Choiseul - Gouffier); Masterpieces of French Art, Paris, Musée d'Art Moderne, 1937, catalog supplement. Bibliography: E. and J. de Goncourt, L'Art du XVIIIesiècle, Paris, 1882, p.338; R. Portalis, Honoré Fragonard sa vie et son œuvre, Paris, 1889, p.289; L. Réau, Fragonard sa vie et son œuvre, Brussels, 1956, p.185; G. Wildenstein, Fragonard, London, 1960, no. 167, reproduced fig. 89; J. Wilhelm, Fragonard, unpublished, 1960, p.185; Catalog of the Fragonard exhibition, Paris, Grand Palais, 1987, cited under n°92 and 93, reproduced p.197, fig.3; J.-P. Cuzin, Jean-Honoré Fragonard, Vie et œuvre, Catalogue complet des peintures, Fribourg, 1987, no. 129, reproduced; P. Rosenberg, Tout l'œuvre peint de Fragonard, Paris, 1989, no. 132, reproduced. Our painting was engraved in 1784 by Jean Mathieu, under the title Le temps orageux, with a dedication to the Comte de Choiseul-Gouffier. Our painting was associated in the Choiseul-Gouffier collection with L'abreuvoir, now in the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Lyon. Two watercolors of the same subject, Le temps orageux and L'abreuvoir, were done by Fragonard after his own paintings. They were found in 1800 in the collection of the Marquis de Lagoy (see Fragonard exhibition catalog, 1987, no. 93, reproduced fig. 2). Around 1760, still a boarder in Rome, Fragonard's interest in landscapes grew under the influence of his first mentor, the Abbé de Saint Non, and Hubert Robert, with whom he worked. The Villa d'Este became one of his favorite models. Italian landscapes would remain one of his favorite subjects throughout his career. Returning to Paris in 1761, he developed a passion for the Dutch masters of the 17th century, in particular Jacob van Ruisdael, whose work he owned. He took up the idea of associating a cloudy sky, usually tormented, with a craggy landscape. However, he introduced figures and animals in a style and color palette all his own. Many hypotheses have been put forward concerning Fragonard's possible trip to the Netherlands. However, the painter had the opportunity to admire the rich collections of Parisian art lovers. Fragonard's works can be found side by side with the Nordic paintings that may have inspired them in the same collection. Choiseul Gouffier is a case in point, as the catalog of its sale in 1787 reveals.