Jean-Honoré Fragonard

During the summer of 1760 Fragonard stayed at the Villa d'Este at Tivoli. Inspired by the beauty and picturesque neglect, the young artist turned out many red chalk views of the lovely old gardens. This rare gouache is a reduction of his painting of the same subject now in the Wallace Collection, London. It is not possible to identify the precise spot depicted here since the artist's view is generally impressionistic and perhaps based on his recollection of the Dragon Fountain.