Jean-Honoré Fragonard

During his yearlong travels with the financier Bergeret de Grancourt in 1773–74, Fragonard spent two months in Naples. Inspired by the setting and by the local inhabitants, the artist produced some of the finest drawings of his Italian trip. This portrait of an unknown young woman wearing a traditional costume is astonishing in its modernity. An abbreviated inscription on the sheet most probably in Fragonard’s hand—Naples 1774 – feme de / Ste. Lucia—makes reference to the Passeggiata di Santa Lucia, a popular street in Naples.