A Shaded Avenue
ca. 1775
Jean-Honoré Fragonard, the master of playful Rococo flirtation, surprises us here with a moody, atmospheric forest scene. Towering trees arch overhead to form a dark, tunnel-like canopy, dwarfing the tiny figures strolling and resting below. Painted around 1775, this work hints at a shift in taste—moving away from frivolous courtly games toward a deeper, almost pre-Romantic awe of nature's scale. It’s a reminder that before the French Revolution chased him from favor, Fragonard could paint the sublime just as well as he painted the seductive.
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