Portrait of a Man in Costume
Jean-Honoré Fragonard (French, 1732–1806)
c. 1767–68
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Type
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Materials & printing
Archival matte paper, 189 g/m² (10.3 mil), sourced from Japan, printed with multicolor water-based inkjet so every brushstroke stays crisp. Framed prints arrive ready to hang in a .75″ ayous-wood frame with an acrylite front. Sized to standard frames by cropping, never stretching — at most about 3% comes off one edge, which isn’t noticeable on most pieces, and we only offer a size when it stays that small.
Shipping & returns
Made to order and delivered in 5–8 business days (2–4 to print, 3–4 in transit). US shipping only for now. Because each print is made for your order, all sales are final — but if it arrives damaged or defective, send us a photo within 14 days and we’ll replace it free. Full policy.
Why is it this affordable?
A thin, flat margin on every piece — just enough to keep the store running. Most of what you pay is the print itself. We only sell sizes that reproduce at full quality, and we don’t mark up the large sizes the way most shops do.
About this work
One of the most prolific artists of the eighteenth century, Jean-Honoré Fragonard excelled at painting amorous subjects, lush landscapes, and lighthearted scenes of everyday life, only rarely turning his hand to the antique subjects most esteemed by the art academies. His paintings also eschewed the high finish then deemed appropriate for a carefully executed work; instead, he applied paint directly and impetuously, and his compositions often have the character of quick sketches.
Portrait of a Man in Costume is closely related to a series of paintings traditionally known as “fantasy portraits,” although they actually depict members of the artist’s circle of friends and patrons. The precise identity of this figure is unknown, and the painting may have been intended as an imaginative type.
The half-length format allowed Fragonard to use details of expression, pose, and dress to endow the subjects with extraordinary vitality. Ruff s, padded shoulders, and jaunty hats evoke historical costumes and reflect the artist’s appropriation of the styles and subjects of his predecessors, notably Peter Paul Rubens. The style of beard and mustache and the striped garment with extended shoulders suggest the fashions of the early Baroque period. The restricted color range of earthy green and brown emphasizes the man’s face, which appears luminous against a soft background. His large, heavy-lidded eyes dominate the image, their penetrating stillness contrasting with the active, undulating contours of his rumpled costume.
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Original size
- 80.3 × 64.7 cm (31 5/8 × 25 1/2 in.)
Museum record · 3 owners · 9 exhibitions
Provenance
- Possibly Mauperin, Paris; sold A. Paillet, Hôtel de Bullion, Paris, December 4, 1780, for 100 livres.
- Sold Hôtel Drouot, Paris, April 20, 1885, for Fr 2,900.
- Camille Groult (died 1908), Paris; his son Jean Groult (died 1951), Paris; purchased from the Groult collection by Wildenstein, New York, 1954; sold by Wildenstein to Leigh Block, Chicago, 1954; given to the Art Institute by Mary and Leigh Block, 1977.
Exhibitions
- Minneapolis, Institute of Arts, French Eighteenth-Century Painters, 1954 (not in cat.).
- Chicago, Art Institute, Great French Paintings: An Exhibition in Memory of Chauncey McCormick, 1955, as An Actor in the Role of Don Quixote.
- Kansas City, The Nelson Gallery and Atkins Museum, The Century of Mozart, cat.; as An Actor in the Role of Don Quixote (cat. published as The Nelson Gallery and Atkins Museum Bulletin 1, 1 ).
- Washington D.C., National Gallery of Art, 100 European Paintings and Drawings from the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Leigh B. Block, 1967; traveled to Boston and Los Angeles, cat., as Portrait of a Man as Don Quixote.
- Chicago, Art Institute, Masterpieces from Private Collections in Chicago, 1969, not numbered, as Portrait of a Man as Don Quixote.
- Chicago, Art Institute, European Portraits, 1600–1900, in The Art Institute of Chicago, 1978, cat., as Portrait of a Man or Don Quixote.
- Houston, Museum of Fine Arts, A Magic Mirror: The Portraits in France, 1700–1900, October 10, 1986–January 25, 1987, cat., as Portrait of a Man (Don Quixote).
- Paris, Galeries Nationales du Grand Palais, Fragonard, September 22, 1987– January 4, 1988, cat.; New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Febuary 2-May 8, 1988.
- Washington, D.C., National Gallery of Art, Fragonard: The Fantasy Figures, Oct. 8-Dec. 3, 2017, Plate 17.
