The Grand Staircase of the Villa d'Este at Tivoli
On View In:
Gallery 310
Artist:   Jean-Honoré Fragonard  
Title:   The Grand Staircase of the Villa d'Este at Tivoli  
Date:   c. 1759  
Medium:   Oil on canvas  
Dimensions:   32 1/4 x 41 1/4 in. (81.92 x 104.78 cm) (sight) 44 1/2 x 53 1/2 x 3 1/2 in. (113.03 x 135.89 x 8.89 cm) (outer frame)  
Credit Line:   Gift of Daniel T. and Helen E. Lindsay  
Location:   Gallery 310  

Like many artists of his generation, Jean-Honoré Fragonard initially trained in Italy. While living in Rome from 1756 to 1761, he visited the Villa d'Este at Tivoli and painted the grand staircase leading into the famous water gardens with their hundreds of cascading fountains. This work by one of France's most important 18th-century painters was purchased by the director of the French Academy in Rome before the artist returned home.

Artist/Creator(s)     
Name:   Fragonard, Jean-Honoré  
Nationality:   French  
Life Dates:   French, 1732-1806  
 

Object Description  
  
Inscriptions:    
Classification:   Paintings  
Physical Description:   stairway around a fountain in a garden; tall trees at L; 2 sculptures at overlook at top of stairs at center; figures at LLC and at overlook  
Creation Place:   Europe, France, , ,  
Accession #:   2001.235  
Owner:   The Minneapolis Institute of Arts