The Little Park (c. 1763): Art, History and Details

The Little Park (c. 1763) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Jean-Honoré Fragonard (French, 1732–1806).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

One of Fragonard’s earliest etchings, this picturesque view of an imaginary terraced Italian garden is perhaps inspired by memories of the grounds at the Villa d’Este in Tivoli, where he spent time in 1760. Fragonard’s spontaneously scribbled, willowy lines and his choice of black-gray ink give the etching a silvery quality that evokes the hazy atmosphere of hot Italian summers. Beneath the sun-dappled foliage, between the lion statues, a young woman encounters a youth resting on the steps.

Object facts

• Title: The Little Park
• Date: c. 1763
• Creator attribution: Jean-Honoré Fragonard (French, 1732–1806)
• Culture: France
• Type: Print
• Technique: etching
• Dimensions: Sheet: 14.4 x 21.8 cm (5 11/16 x 8 9/16 in.); Platemark: 11.2 x 16.5 cm (4 7/16 x 6 1/2 in.)
• Collection: PR - Etching
• Department: Prints
• Accession number: 2013.20

Collection credit

Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.