About the Artwork
In the mid-1760s, Jean-Honoré Fragonard — perhaps inspired by a trip to Holland — developed a deep affection for seventeenth-century Dutch landscapes dedicated to the slow, deliberate rhythms of rural life. This painting is one of several, similarly sized scenes that resulted from this interest. In the present composition, the motif of the gnarled tree prominently silhouetted against the luminous sky clearly nods to the art of Jacob van Ruisdael, one of the Dutch masters of the landscape genre. Fragonard imparted his own characteristic touch of humor with the addition of a gathering storm cloud that threatens to rain upon the peacefully grazing sheep and lounging peasants below.
Landscape with Passing Shower
between 1765 and 1775
Jean Honoré Fragonard
1732-1806
French
----------
Oil on canvas
Unframed: 15 × 18 inches (38.1 × 45.7 cm) Framed: 21 11/16 × 24 5/8 × 2 5/8 inches (55.1 × 62.5 × 6.7 cm)
Paintings
European Painting
Founders Society Purchase with funds from Mr. and Mrs. Edgar B. Whitcomb
48.215
Public Domain
Markings
Please note: This section is empty
Provenance
May 19-20, 1876, Huot-Fragonard sale (Paris, France) lot 55 [for 410 francs];Baron Etienne Martin de Beurnonville [d. 1876] (Paris, France);
January 30-31, 1885, sold by (Hôtel Drouot, Paris, France) auction de Beurnonville, lot 138 [for 695 francs];
by 1928, (Gallery Cailleux, Paris, France);
David David-Weill (Neuilly-sur-Seine, France);
by 1937, (Wildenstein and Co., Inc., New York, New York, USA);
until 1948, (Arnold Seligmann-Helft Corp., New York, New York, USA);
1948-present, purchase by the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)
For more information on provenance, please visit:
Provenance pageExhibition History
Please note: This section is empty
The exhibition history of a number of objects in our collection only begins after their acquisition by the museum, and may reflect an incomplete record.
We welcome your feedback for correction and/or improvement.
Suggest FeedbackPublished References
Pannier, H. "Catalogue des oeuvres peintes de Jean-Honoré Fragonard qui ont passé en vente publique depuis 1770 jusqu'en 1905." in P. de Nolhac, J.-H. Fragonard, 1732-1806. Paris, 1906 p. 134. [as Les bergers.]
Henriot, G. Collection David-Weill, Peintures. Paris, vol. 1, 1926, pp. 115-117 (ill.).
David-Weill Pictures. Exh. cat., Wildenstein & Co., Inc. New York, 1937, no. 15.
Landscape Painting from Patinir to Hubert Robert. Exh. cat., Johns Hopkins University. Baltimore, 1941, p. 26, no. 57.
Wilhelm, J. "Fragonard as a Painter of Realistic Landscapes." The Art Quarterly 11 (1948): p. 299 (ill.) (fig. 3); p. 304, note 4.
Grigaut, P.L. "A Realistic Landscape by Fragonard." DIA Bulletin 28, no. 1 (1948): 14-17, p. 16 (ill.).
Eighteenth Century Art of France and England. Exh. cat., Museum of Fine Arts. Montreal, 1950, p. 11, no. 24.
Richardson, E.P. Catalogue of the Paintings and Sculpture Given by Edgar B. Whitcomb and Anna Scripps Whitcomb to the Detroit Institute of Arts. Detroit, 1954, pp. 76-77 (ill.).
Réau, L. Fragonard, sa vie et son oeuvre. Brussels, 1956, p. 186 [as Paysage au taureau blanc]; p. 84 [as La Clairière.].
Wildenstein, G. The Paintings of Fragonard. London, 1960, p. 236, no. 176; p. 238 (ill.) (fig. 94).
Wilhelm. "Fragonard." mimeographed, 1960, p. 181.
Parker, Clifford Stetson. Lectures culturelles françaises. New York, 1966, p. 365.
Wildenstein, D. and G. Mandel. L'opera completa di Fragonard. Milan, 1972, p. 94, no. 189.
Three Masters of Landscape: Fragonard, Robert, and Boucher. Exh. cat., Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Richmond, 1981, no. 22, p. 34 (ill.).
Russell, J. "Three French Landscapists with a Common Vision." New York Times, Nov 29, 1981, n.p.
Zafran, E.M. The Rococo Age, French Masterpieces of the Eighteenth Century. Exh. cat., High Museum of Art. Atlanta, 1983, p. 138, no. 66, p. 130 (ill.).
Rosenberg, P. "Fragonard and the Dutch Landscape." Fragonard. Exh. cat., Grand Palais and Metropolitan Museum of Art. Paris and New York, p. 185 (fig. 5).
Cuzin, J.-P. Jean-Honoré Fragonard: Life and Work. New York, 1988, pp. 196-197 (fig. 240); p. 287, no. 141 [as Landscape with a horseman, The Glade, or The Shepherds.]
Rosenberg, P. Tout l'oeuvre peint de Fragonard. Paris, 1989, p. 87, no. 141. [as Paysage à l'averse, avec Bergers et Cavalières, ca.1761-1765 or 1766-1768.]
Kindly share your feedback or any additional information, as this record is still a work in progress and may need further refinement.
Suggest FeedbackCatalogue Raisoneé
Please note: This section is empty
Credit Line for Reproduction
Jean Honoré Fragonard, Landscape with Passing Shower, between 1765 and 1775, oil on canvas. Detroit Institute of Arts, Founders Society Purchase with funds from Mr. and Mrs. Edgar B. Whitcomb, 48.215.
More by Artist
Related Works
Feedback
We regularly update our object record as new research and findings emerge, and we welcome your feedback for correction or improvement.
Suggest Feedback
