Saint Mark 1761 - 1765

Curator: This is Jean-Honoré Fragonard's "Saint Mark," a pen and engraving print made sometime between 1761 and 1765. What strikes you first about it? Editor: Utter exuberance. The figures burst forth with almost chaotic energy. The saint’s cloak swirls dramatically; the cherubs look like they’re about to tumble right out of the sky. It feels so…alive. Curator: It's definitely not your typical staid religious imagery, is it? Fragonard’s Baroque style here—particularly in the use of dramatic lines and dynamic composition—really charges the scene with emotion. Editor: Baroque gone wild! I find it intriguing how Fragonard takes a historical subject – Saint Mark – and injects such dynamism into it. It is less about religious awe and more about conveying almost an immediate, passionate energy. Is there something particular about Fragonard’s context that brings about this emotional treatment? Curator: Absolutely. Fragonard was working during a time when the traditional academic approach to art was being challenged by a new focus on individual feeling and expression, which really aligned with broader intellectual shifts happening then. His Saint Mark isn't just an icon, but a figure caught in a moment of inspiration. You can feel the urgency. It’s worth thinking about what that sort of emotional projection really does. It is supposed to reach the masses, or inspire some movement among powerful people? Editor: And how fascinating that he chose printmaking, a readily reproducible medium, to express it. He would’ve known the piece would circulate, moving from hands to hands. Curator: Precisely. And you can feel the handmade character, can't you? The sketchy lines contribute to a sense of spontaneity, like we're seeing a fleeting glimpse of divine inspiration as it unfolds. He takes something so canonical and transforms it through both material practice and expressive flair into something new. Editor: Well, that does transform the piece. Now I see that Fragonard isn't only capturing an image of Saint Mark, but is attempting to share a flash of that creative genesis itself. I think now, more than just a religious engraving, it’s really a portrait of an inspiration.