Bull of the Roman Campagna 1773 - 1774

Jean-Honoré Fragonard made this drawing, Bull of the Roman Campagna, with brown wash on laid paper. Fragonard belonged to a generation of French artists who defined themselves in relation to the institutions of the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture. This drawing exemplifies a shift in artistic interests, as artists turned away from the formal expectations of history painting and began to explore the Italian countryside. The “Roman Campagna” refers to the low-lying area surrounding Rome, and became a popular destination for artists seeking new subjects outside the city’s urban environment. The turn to landscape and animal subjects reflected broader changes in 18th-century social life, as many Europeans began to value rural experience and the agricultural economy. To more fully understand this artwork, one might research the contemporary travel culture and the market for landscape imagery in France and Italy at this time. Paying attention to the social conditions that shaped Fragonard's aesthetic choices helps us to appreciate the broader cultural meaning of his art.