Astolfo Sails off with Andronica and Sofrosina
early 1780s
Medium
Black chalk, with pen and brush and brown ink and brush and brown wash, on off-white laid paper
Dimensions
39.3 × 26.7 cm (15 1/2 × 10 9/16 in.)
Classification
drawings (visual works)
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
202341
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
This is one of Jean-Honoré Fragonard’s 179 drawings illustrating scenes from Ludovico Ariosto’s epic poem Orlando furioso (The Frenzy of Orlando), first published in 1532. The English knight Astolfo, in armor at left in the ship’s bow, has left the island of the enchantress Alcina. In this scene, he sails home escorted by Andronica and Sofrosina, who represent the virtues of Fortitude and Temperance. Sofrosina waves her wand, directing the wind, while the angelic putti at the ship’s stern advanc...
About the Artist
Jean Honoré Fragonard · 1732–1806
Jean-Honoré Fragonard (1732-1806) was a French painter and printmaker whose late Rococo manner was distinguished by remarkable facility, exuberance, and hedonism. Born in Grasse, he moved to Paris where he trained under Jean-Baptiste Chardin and François Boucher, winning the prestigious Prix de Rome in 1752. After studying in Italy alongside Hubert Robert, Fragonard returned to Paris in 1761 to fi...