  About the Artwork
  
  
  With its startling combination of cool blues, warm oranges, and creamy whites, this fluid and exuberant oval painting by Jean-Honoré Fragonard showcases the gestural brushwork and bold color contrasts that would profoundly inspire French impressionist painters of the following century. Wearing a golden helmet and carrying a shield, the warrior turns dynamically, as if paused momentarily, her cloak still fluttering behind her, the plumes of her helmet still dancing. Her classical attire suggests that she is intended to represent Minerva, the Roman goddess famed for her strong sense of justice and innate wisdom.
  
  
  Title
  The Goddess Minerva
  
  
  Artwork Date
  ca. 1772
  
  Artist
  Jean Honoré Fragonard
  
  
  
  Life Dates
  1732-1806
  
  
  
  
  Nationality
  
  
  
  Please note:
  Definitions for nationality may vary significantly, depending on chronology and world events.
  Some definitions include:
  Belonging to a people having a common origin based on a geography and/or descent and/or tradition and/or culture and/or religion and/or language, or sharing membership in a legally defined nation.
  
  
  
  French
  
  
  
  Culture
  
  
  
  Please note:
  Cultures may be defined by the language, customs, religious beliefs, social norms, and material traits of a group.
  
  
  
  
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  Medium
  Oil on canvas
  
  
  Dimensions
  Unframed (oval): 27 5/8 × 21 7/8 inches (70.2 × 55.6 cm)
  Framed: 39 × 29 × 4 inches (99.1 × 73.7 × 10.2 cm)
  
  
  Classification
  Paintings
  
  
  Department
  European Painting
  
  
  Credit
  Bequest of Mr. and Mrs. Edgar B. Whitcomb
  
  
  
  Accession Number
  
  
  
  This unique number is assigned to an individual artwork as part of the cataloguing process at the time of entry into the permanent collection.
  Most frequently, accession numbers begin with the year in which the artwork entered the museum’s holdings.
  For example, 2008.3 refers to the year of acquisition and notes that it was the 3rd of that year. The DIA has a few additional systems—no longer assigned—that identify specific donors or museum patronage groups.
  
  
  
  53.354
  
  
  Copyright
  Public Domain
