1800
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
La Sagesse is a 1800 by Alexandre-Évariste Fragonard, a Baroque work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
A woman sits on a stone throne, her arm raised like a judge. She wears a crown of stars and the word “Sagesse” across her forehead. Two smaller figures flank her like guards. This is Wisdom as a sculpture, painted in shades of gray—no color, just light and shadow. The artist was only 18 when he made it, the son of a famous painter. The work feels older than it is, like a relic from ancient Rome. Look up *sfumato* to see how soft edges can make stone look real.
Fragonard’s grisaille drawing portrays a sculpted personification of Wisdom, identified by the inscription “Sagesse” along her forehead. She is seated on a stone throne, decorated with two other female personifications on either side. Characterized as a righteous woman, Wisdom lifts her right arm in an authoritative gesture while clutching her traditional attribute, a crown of stars, in her other hand.
Read the full account in the museum source.
Alexandre-Évariste Fragonard (French pronunciation: ; 26 October 1780 – 10 November 1850) was a French painter and sculptor in the troubadour style.
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