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Jean-Honoré Fragonard

Orpheus and Eurydice (recto)

c. 1761
black chalk

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FROM THE CLEVELAND MUSEUM OF ART’S CATALOG

Quick drawings could serve a variety of purposes, and it is not always clear today why an artist created a particular sketch. This one may record a painting Fragonard saw during a journey to Italy, or capture an idea he was considering for a painting of his own. Orpheus, identified by the lute, grasps for his love Eurydice as she is pulled down into Hades. The snarling animals near his feet may represent Cerberus, the multiheaded guard dog of the underworld.

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