Special Exhibitions
Inventive Impressions
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Special Exhibitions |
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Inventive Impressions |
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Jean-Honoré Fragonard (French, 1732-1806) The Cupboard is Fragonard's largest and most complex etching. A skilled printmaker, he used a complex system of hatchings and crosshatchings of various densities to create a rich tonal palette. His masterful rendering of passages of tone with a linear technique can be seen in details such as the half-lit room with its wrinkled bedding, a remarkable tour de force of chiaroscuro achieved only with line.Although today the subject of The Cupboard may appear frivolous and overly dramatic, when it appeared pictures of elevating moral themes were very popular. There was also an audience for prints with explicit erotic details, and although in Fragonard's preparatory drawing for this subject the young man steps down from the cupboard holdng his hat over his chest, in the etching his hat is held below his waist. Viewers would have immediately understood this visual language, which other artists also used in their representations of interrupted amorous encounters. Page 4 of 9 | On the next page: Paul Gauguin (French, 1848-1903) |
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