Collection Online as of February 8, 2023
François I Brandishing a Sword
Alexandre-Evariste Fragonard
(French, 1781–1850)
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
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.