Existing comment:
Jean-Honore Fragonard
Landscape with Washerwoman, ca 1765
Dutch art was held in low esteem by academic painters because of its reputation for representing nature as seen rather than as ideally imagined by the artist. Jean-Honore Fragonard, however, greatly admired the 17th-century Dutch artists, especially Jan Wijnants and Jacob van Ruisdael. This charming landscape shows Ruisdael's influence in the billowing clouds, which are accented by Fragonard's spirited brushwork. In departing from the pretty but artificial conventions of contemporary landscapes, Fragonard provided an example of his desire to master many different styles of painting. |