Nymph Sitting on the Hands of Two Satyrs from Bacchanales, or Satyrs' Games

Museum record 28687: Nymph Sitting on the Hands of Two Satyrs from Bacchanales, or Satyrs' Games by Jean-Honoré Fragonard. A verified entry point for disc…

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For Nymph Sitting on the Hands of Two Satyrs from Bacchanales, or Satyrs' Games (record 28687), start with modern, expressive, atmospheric. Compare the focal subject, edge treatment, and atmosphere before moving on.

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This set of four etchings may refer to ancient bas-reliefs Fragonard saw while visiting Rome with an important antiquarian, the Abbé de Saint Non (see 1926.453, .454, and .456). The size of the paired oval and rectangular reliefs—one or more of which might derive from ancient engraved cameos instead of large-scale sculptures—remains ambiguous, although hidden objects in the surrounding foliage suggest a large scale. Regardless of their source, the popularity of Fragonard’s printed reliefs reflected the t…