Visit to the painter's studio

A visit at the master’s workshop Drawing on paper, in quill, depicting a genre scene – two men adorning the workshop of the master depicted on the easel; he himself is seated in an armchair, with a palette in his hands. The scene plays out in an interior. The men wear stylish attire, the aged painted, in a long dress, tied at the waist, is sitting in an armchair with a large back rest, taking in his work. The wash drawing is made in sepia, in quill on paper. Sepia is a black-brown pigment, it is also ink that is acquired from cephalopods (the cuttlefish), used from the end of the 18th century. Washing in turn means shading and applying several layers of colour, frequently of uniform tone, with a quill or brush. It is used to provide a deeper graphical tone and spatial feeling to the work, in this case – the drawing. The drawing is signed in the lower left hand corner as „Fragonard”. This indicates Theophile Fragonard (b. February 1806 in Paris, d. July 1876 in  Neuilly-sur-Seine), a portrait painter, engraver and lithographer, he also worked at the Sevres porcelain facility as a painter of porcelain goods. He originated from a famous painter family, son to Alexandre-Évariste Fragonard (1780-1850), a painter, and grandson to Jean-Honoré Fragonarda, one of the most famous representatives of rococo painting. The painting was found in the collection of the Potocki family, the former castle owners, and is displayed in the first floor of the castle, in one of the representative chambers.