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A black and white ink drawing of several male soldiers, one kneeling before another male figure who holds an arm out above him.

A black and white ink drawing of several male soldiers running towards another male figure. On the left, four male soldiers wear armor and carry shields and weapons. On the left, another male figure wearing armor and holding a long spear faces them. He holds his arm out in front of him, over the body of another male soldier who is kneeling before him. He holds his arms out and up towards the other male figure’s face. The figures are against a pure black background.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
2018.210
People
Alexandre-Evariste Fragonard, French (Grasse 1780 - 1850 Paris)
Title
A Centurion Begging for Protection from Marc Antony during a Seditious Revolt
Classification
Drawings
Work Type
drawing
Date
c. 1800
Culture
French
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/362188

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Black ink and black and gray wash, probably over graphite, framing lines in black ink, on off-white antique laid paper (laid down)
Dimensions
20.4 × 48 cm (8 1/16 × 18 7/8 in.)
Inscriptions and Marks
  • inscription: lower center in black and gray ink in the artist's hand: DU TEMS DES GUERRES DE ROME DES SOLDATS / DANS UNES SEDITION PRIRENT UN CENTURION ILS VOULOIENT LE MASSACRER IL SE JETTA / AUX PIED D'ANTOINE QUI LE PROTGEA ET REPRIMA LA FUREUR DES REVOLTE.
  • inscription: signed lower left, black ink: Fragonard - fils invenit.
  • inscription: verso of mount, lower right, graphite: 23155

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
[Drouot Richelieu, Paris, commissaire-priseur Paul Renaud, June 12, 1992, lot 58]. [Sotheby's, London, February 26, 1998, lot 577]. [W. M. Brady & Co., New York, 1999]. Private Collection, Massachusetts. [Stephen Ongpin Fine Art, London], sold; to Harvard Art Museums, 2018

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Marian H. Phinney Fund and William W. Robinson Fund
Accession Year
2018
Object Number
2018.210
Division
European and American Art
Contact
am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Publication History

  • Dessins Anciens, auct. cat., Drouot Richelieu (Paris, June 12, 1992), lot 58, repr.
  • Mark Brady, Old Master Drawings, exh. cat., W. M. Brady & Co., Inc. (New York, 1999), cat. no. 25, repr.
  • Watteau to Gauguin: French Drawings, 1700-1900, auct. cat., Stephen Ongpin Fine Art (London, 2018), no. 40, repr.
  • Rébecca Duffeix, Alexandre-Évariste Fragonard: 1780-1850, Arthena (Paris, 2022), D.85, p. 250, ill.
  • Edouard Kopp, Elizabeth M. Rudy, and Kristel Smentek, ed., Dare to Know: Prints and Drawings in the Age of Enlightenment, exh. cat., Harvard Art Museums (Cambridge, MA, 2022), pp. 236-237, repr. p. 236 as fig. 6

Exhibition History

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of European and American Art at am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu