The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of May 25, 2026

A vertically oriented ink and wash drawing on tan paper depicts François I, a man with light skin tone, lunging left in a stone hall. He holds a curved sword aloft in his right hand, wearing a plumed hat and billowing cloak. To his left, a winged statue sits on a pedestal beside stone stairs. At the top, one person kneels in prayer while another stands in a distant arched doorway.

François I Brandishing a Sword

c. 1815–30

Alexandre-Evariste Fragonard

(French, 1781–1850)
France, 19th century
Pen and brown ink and brush and brown wash with graphite underdrawing and white and yellow gouache heightening on wove paper
Sheet: 16.9 x 12.2 cm (6 5/8 x 4 13/16 in.)
Bequest of Muriel Butkin 2019.254
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

Alexandre-Evariste Fragonard was the son of the famous painter Jean-Honoré Fragonard, but developed a very different artistic style than his father.

Description

Alexandre-Evariste Fragonard developed a dramatic, narrative style of drawing that was well suited for illustration, and this sheet may have been one such design. Like many of his contemporaries, Fragonard was interested in modern history, focusing on important figures of the recent past. Here, he likely depicted the French king François I (1494–1547), a frequent subject of his work.
  • Carl Robert Rudolph [c. 1884-1974], London, United Kingdom
    1979
    (Jan Milner, New York, NY)
    1979-2008
    Muriel Butkin [1916-2008], Shaker Heights, OH
    December 2, 2019
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • {{cite web|title=François I Brandishing a Sword|url=false|author=Alexandre-Evariste Fragonard|year=c. 1815–30|access-date=25 May 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2019.254