Jean-Honoré Fragonard
Encyclopedia
Jean-Honoré Fragonard was a French
painter and printmaker whose late Rococo
manner was distinguished by remarkable facility, exuberance, and hedonism
. One of the most prolific artists active in the last decades of the Ancien Régime, Fragonard produced more than 550 paintings (not counting drawings and etching
s), of which only five are dated. Among his most popular works are genre painting
s conveying an atmosphere of intimacy and veiled eroticism
.
Jean-Honoré Fragonard was born at Grasse
, Alpes-Maritimes
, the son of François Fragonard, a glove
r, and Françoise Petit.
He was articled to a Paris
notary when his father's circumstances became strained through unsuccessful speculations, but showed such talent and inclination for art that he was taken at the age of eighteen to François Boucher
, who, recognizing the youth's rare gifts but disinclined to waste his time with one so inexperienced, sent him to Chardin
's atelier. Fragonard studied for six months under the great luminist, then returned more fully equipped to Boucher, whose style he soon acquired so completely that the master entrusted him with the execution of replicas of his paintings.
Though not yet a pupil of the Academy
, Fragonard gained the Prix de Rome
in 1752 with a painting of "Jeroboam
Sacrificing to the Golden Calf", but before proceeding to Rome
he continued to study for three years under Charles-André van Loo
. In the year preceding his departure he painted the "Christ washing the Feet of the Apostles" now at Grasse cathedral. On 17 September 1756, he took up his abode at the French Academy in Rome
, then presided over by Charles-Joseph Natoire
.
While at Rome, Fragonard contracted a friendship with a fellow painter, Hubert Robert
. In 1760, they toured Italy together, executing numerous sketches of local scenery. It was in these romantic gardens, with their fountains, grottos, temples and terraces, that Fragonard conceived the dreams which he was subsequently to render in his art. He also learned to admire the masters of the Dutch and Flemish schools (Rubens, Hals
, Rembrandt, Ruisdael), imitating their loose and vigorous brushstrokes. Added to this influence was the deep impression made upon his mind by the florid sumptuousness of Giovanni Battista Tiepolo
, whose works he had an opportunity to study in Venice
before he returned to Paris in 1761.
In 1765, his "Coresus et Callirhoe
" secured his admission to the Academy. It was made the subject of a pompous (though not wholly serious) eulogy by Diderot, and was bought by the king, who had it reproduced at the Gobelins
factory. Hitherto Fragonard had hesitated between religious, classic and other subjects; but now the demand of the wealthy art patrons of Louis XV
's pleasure-loving and licentious court turned him definitely towards those scenes of love and voluptuousness with which his name will ever be associated, and which are only made acceptable by the tender beauty of his color and the virtuosity of his facile brushwork; such works include the Blind man's bluff
, Serment d'amour (Love Vow), Le Verrou (The Bolt), La Culbute (The Tumble), La Chemise enlevée (The Shirt Removed), and L'escarpolette
(The Swing, Wallace Collection
), and his decorations for the apartments of Mme du Barry
and the dancer Madeleine Guimard.
A lukewarm response to these series of ambitious works induced Fragonard to abandon Rococo and to experiment with Neoclassicism
. He married Marie-Anne Gérard, herself a painter of miniatures, (1745–1823) on 17 June 1769 and had a daughter, Rosalie Fragonard (1769–1788), who became one of his favourite models. In October 1773, he again went to Italy
with Pierre-Jacques Onézyme Bergeret de Grancourt and his son, Pierre-Jacques Bergeret de Grancourt. In September 1774, he returned through Vienna
, Prague
, Dresden
, Frankfurt
and Strasbourg
.
Back in Paris, Marguerite Gérard
, his wife's 14-year-old sister, became his pupil and assistant in 1778. In 1780, he had a son, Alexandre-Évariste Fragonard
(1780–1850), who eventually became a talented painter and sculptor. The French Revolution
deprived Fragonard of his private patrons: they were either guillotined or exiled. The neglected painter deemed it prudent to leave Paris in 1793 and found shelter in the house of his friend Maubert at Grasse, which he decorated with the series of decorative panels known as the Les progrès de l'amour dans le cœur d'une jeune fille, originally painted for Château du Barry.
Jean-Honoré Fragonard returned to Paris early in the nineteenth century, where he died in 1806, almost completely forgotten.
, and Renoir
) cannot be overestimated. Fragonard's paintings Alongside those of François Boucher
, seem to sum up an era.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
painter and printmaker whose late Rococo
Rococo
Rococo , also referred to as "Late Baroque", is an 18th-century style which developed as Baroque artists gave up their symmetry and became increasingly ornate, florid, and playful...
manner was distinguished by remarkable facility, exuberance, and hedonism
Hedonism
Hedonism is a school of thought which argues that pleasure is the only intrinsic good. In very simple terms, a hedonist strives to maximize net pleasure .-Etymology:The name derives from the Greek word for "delight" ....
. One of the most prolific artists active in the last decades of the Ancien Régime, Fragonard produced more than 550 paintings (not counting drawings and etching
Etching
Etching is the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio in the metal...
s), of which only five are dated. Among his most popular works are genre painting
Genre painting
Genre works, also called genre scenes or genre views, are pictorial representations in any of various media that represent scenes or events from everyday life, such as markets, domestic settings, interiors, parties, inn scenes, and street scenes. Such representations may be realistic, imagined, or...
s conveying an atmosphere of intimacy and veiled eroticism
Eroticism
Eroticism is generally understood to refer to a state of sexual arousal or anticipation of such – an insistent sexual impulse, desire, or pattern of thoughts, as well as a philosophical contemplation concerning the aesthetics of sexual desire, sensuality and romantic love...
.
Biography
Grasse
-See also:*Route Napoléon*Ancient Diocese of Grasse*Communes of the Alpes-Maritimes department-External links:*...
, Alpes-Maritimes
Alpes-Maritimes
Alpes-Maritimes is a department in the extreme southeast corner of France.- History : was created by Octavian as a Roman military district in 14 BC, and became a full Roman province in the middle of the 1st century with its capital first at Cemenelum and subsequently at Embrun...
, the son of François Fragonard, a glove
Glove
A glove is a garment covering the hand. Gloves have separate sheaths or openings for each finger and the thumb; if there is an opening but no covering sheath for each finger they are called "fingerless gloves". Fingerless gloves with one large opening rather than individual openings for each...
r, and Françoise Petit.
He was articled to a Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
notary when his father's circumstances became strained through unsuccessful speculations, but showed such talent and inclination for art that he was taken at the age of eighteen to François Boucher
François Boucher
François Boucher was a French painter, a proponent of Rococo taste, known for his idyllic and voluptuous paintings on classical themes, decorative allegories representing the arts or pastoral occupations, intended as a sort of two-dimensional furniture...
, who, recognizing the youth's rare gifts but disinclined to waste his time with one so inexperienced, sent him to Chardin
Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin
Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin was an 18th-century French painter. He is considered a master of still life, and is also noted for his genre paintings which depict kitchen maids, children, and domestic activities...
's atelier. Fragonard studied for six months under the great luminist, then returned more fully equipped to Boucher, whose style he soon acquired so completely that the master entrusted him with the execution of replicas of his paintings.
Though not yet a pupil of the Academy
French Academy in Rome
The French Academy in Rome is an Academy located in the Villa Medici, within the Villa Borghese, on the Pincio in Rome, Italy.-History:...
, Fragonard gained the Prix de Rome
Prix de Rome
The Prix de Rome was a scholarship for arts students, principally of painting, sculpture, and architecture. It was created, initially for painters and sculptors, in 1663 in France during the reign of Louis XIV. It was an annual bursary for promising artists having proved their talents by...
in 1752 with a painting of "Jeroboam
Jeroboam
Jeroboam was the first king of the northern Israelite Kingdom of Israel after the revolt of the ten northern Israelite tribes against Rehoboam that put an end to the United Monarchy....
Sacrificing to the Golden Calf", but before proceeding to Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
he continued to study for three years under Charles-André van Loo
Charles-André van Loo
Carle or Charles-André van Loo was a French subject painter, and a younger brother of Jean-Baptiste van Loo and grandson of Jacob van Loo. He was the most famous member of a successful dynasty of painters of Dutch origin...
. In the year preceding his departure he painted the "Christ washing the Feet of the Apostles" now at Grasse cathedral. On 17 September 1756, he took up his abode at the French Academy in Rome
French Academy in Rome
The French Academy in Rome is an Academy located in the Villa Medici, within the Villa Borghese, on the Pincio in Rome, Italy.-History:...
, then presided over by Charles-Joseph Natoire
Charles-Joseph Natoire
Charles-Joseph Natoire was a French painter in the Rococo manner, a pupil of François Lemoyne and director of the French Academy in Rome, 1751-1775...
.
While at Rome, Fragonard contracted a friendship with a fellow painter, Hubert Robert
Hubert Robert
Hubert Robert , French artist, was born in Paris.His father, Nicolas Robert, was in the service of François-Joseph de Choiseul, marquis de Stainville a leading diplomat from Lorraine...
. In 1760, they toured Italy together, executing numerous sketches of local scenery. It was in these romantic gardens, with their fountains, grottos, temples and terraces, that Fragonard conceived the dreams which he was subsequently to render in his art. He also learned to admire the masters of the Dutch and Flemish schools (Rubens, Hals
Frans Hals
Frans Hals was a Dutch Golden Age painter. He is notable for his loose painterly brushwork, and helped introduce this lively style of painting into Dutch art. Hals was also instrumental in the evolution of 17th century group portraiture.-Biography:Hals was born in 1580 or 1581, in Antwerp...
, Rembrandt, Ruisdael), imitating their loose and vigorous brushstrokes. Added to this influence was the deep impression made upon his mind by the florid sumptuousness of Giovanni Battista Tiepolo
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo , also known as Gianbattista or Giambattista Tiepolo, was an Italian painter and printmaker from the Republic of Venice...
, whose works he had an opportunity to study in Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
before he returned to Paris in 1761.
In 1765, his "Coresus et Callirhoe
Callirhoe
Callirrhoe may refer to:* In Greek mythology:** Callirrhoe , a daughter of Oceanus and mother of Geryon, one of the Oceanids...
" secured his admission to the Academy. It was made the subject of a pompous (though not wholly serious) eulogy by Diderot, and was bought by the king, who had it reproduced at the Gobelins
Gobelins manufactory
The Manufacture des Gobelins is a tapestry factory located in Paris, France, at 42 avenue des Gobelins, near the Les Gobelins métro station in the XIIIe arrondissement...
factory. Hitherto Fragonard had hesitated between religious, classic and other subjects; but now the demand of the wealthy art patrons of Louis XV
Louis XV of France
Louis XV was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1 September 1715 until his death. He succeeded his great-grandfather at the age of five, his first cousin Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, served as Regent of the kingdom until Louis's majority in 1723...
's pleasure-loving and licentious court turned him definitely towards those scenes of love and voluptuousness with which his name will ever be associated, and which are only made acceptable by the tender beauty of his color and the virtuosity of his facile brushwork; such works include the Blind man's bluff
Blind Man's Bluff (Fragonard)
Blind man's bluff is a painting by the French Roccoco painter Jean Honoré Fragonard, produced around 1769 in oil on canvas. It is full of deceptions - the girl is looking out from under her blindfold and the game seems to be a pretext leading to seduction; the two figures are in pastoral costume,...
, Serment d'amour (Love Vow), Le Verrou (The Bolt), La Culbute (The Tumble), La Chemise enlevée (The Shirt Removed), and L'escarpolette
The Swing (painting)
The Swing , also known as The Happy Accidents of the Swing , is an 18th century oil painting by Jean-Honoré Fragonard. It is considered as one of the masterpieces of the rococo era.-The painting:...
(The Swing, Wallace Collection
Wallace Collection
The Wallace Collection is a museum in London, with a world-famous range of fine and decorative arts from the 15th to the 19th centuries with large holdings of French 18th-century paintings, furniture, arms & armour, porcelain and Old Master paintings arranged into 25 galleries.It was established in...
), and his decorations for the apartments of Mme du Barry
Madame du Barry
Jeanne Bécu, comtesse du Barry was the last Maîtresse-en-titre of Louis XV of France and one of the victims of the Reign of Terror during the French Revolution.-Early life:...
and the dancer Madeleine Guimard.
A lukewarm response to these series of ambitious works induced Fragonard to abandon Rococo and to experiment with Neoclassicism
Neoclassicism
Neoclassicism is the name given to Western movements in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that draw inspiration from the "classical" art and culture of Ancient Greece or Ancient Rome...
. He married Marie-Anne Gérard, herself a painter of miniatures, (1745–1823) on 17 June 1769 and had a daughter, Rosalie Fragonard (1769–1788), who became one of his favourite models. In October 1773, he again went to Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
with Pierre-Jacques Onézyme Bergeret de Grancourt and his son, Pierre-Jacques Bergeret de Grancourt. In September 1774, he returned through Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
, Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
, Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
and Strasbourg
Strasbourg
Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...
.
Back in Paris, Marguerite Gérard
Marguerite Gérard
-Notes:...
, his wife's 14-year-old sister, became his pupil and assistant in 1778. In 1780, he had a son, Alexandre-Évariste Fragonard
Alexandre-Évariste Fragonard
Alexandre-Évariste Fragonard , son of Jean-Honoré Fragonard, was a French painter and sculptor in the troubadour style...
(1780–1850), who eventually became a talented painter and sculptor. The French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
deprived Fragonard of his private patrons: they were either guillotined or exiled. The neglected painter deemed it prudent to leave Paris in 1793 and found shelter in the house of his friend Maubert at Grasse, which he decorated with the series of decorative panels known as the Les progrès de l'amour dans le cœur d'une jeune fille, originally painted for Château du Barry.
Jean-Honoré Fragonard returned to Paris early in the nineteenth century, where he died in 1806, almost completely forgotten.
Reputation
For half a century or more he was so completely ignored that Lübke in his History of Art (1873) omits the very mention of his name.http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Jean-Honore_Fragonard Subsequent reevaluation has confirmed his position among the all-time masters of French painting. The influence of Fragonard's handling of local colour and expressive, confident brushstroke on the Impressionists (particularly his grand niece, Berthe MorisotBerthe Morisot
Berthe Morisot was a painter and a member of the circle of painters in Paris who became known as the Impressionists. She was described by Gustave Geffroy in 1894 as one of "les trois grandes dames" of Impressionism alongside Marie Bracquemond and Mary Cassatt.In 1864, she exhibited for the first...
, and Renoir
Pierre-Auguste Renoir
Pierre-Auguste Renoir was a French artist who was a leading painter in the development of the Impressionist style. As a celebrator of beauty, and especially feminine sensuality, it has been said that "Renoir is the final representative of a tradition which runs directly from Rubens to...
) cannot be overestimated. Fragonard's paintings Alongside those of François Boucher
François Boucher
François Boucher was a French painter, a proponent of Rococo taste, known for his idyllic and voluptuous paintings on classical themes, decorative allegories representing the arts or pastoral occupations, intended as a sort of two-dimensional furniture...
, seem to sum up an era.
Recent exhibitions
- Consuming Passion : Fragonard's Allegories of Love, Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, MA, from October 28, 2007 to January 21, 2008
- Fragonard , Jacquemart-André Museum, Paris, from October 3, 2007 to January 13, 2008
- Fragonard. Origines et influences. De Rembrandt au XXIe siècle, Barcelone, Caixa Forum From November 10, 2006 to February 11, 2007.
- Les Fragonard de Besançon, Musée des Beaux-Arts et d'archéologie de BesançonMusée des Beaux-Arts et d'archéologie de BesançonThe Musée des Beaux-Arts et d'archéologie in the French city of Besançon is the oldest public museum in France...
, from December 8, 2006 to April 2, 2007. Official website - Jean-Honoré Fragonard, dessins du Louvre, Musée du Louvre, from December 3, 2003 to March 8, 2004.
1750-1755
- Blindman's Bluff
- c. 1750-1752
- oil on canvas, 46 x 36"
- Located in the Toledo Museum of ArtToledo Museum of ArtThe Toledo Museum of Art is an internationally known art museum located in the Old West End neighborhood of Toledo, Ohio, United States. The museum was founded by Toledo glassmaker Edward Drummond Libbey in 1901, and moved to its present location, a Greek revival building designed by Edward B....
, Toledo, Ohio
- Young Woman Holding up Her Child
- c. 1750-1752
- oil on oval canvas, 18 1/2 x 12 5/8"
- Located in the Musee de Louvre, Paris
- Venus and Cupid (aka Day)
- c. 1752-1753
- oil on canvas, 44 7/8 x 52 3/8"
- Located in The National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin
- Jeroboam Sacrificing to Idols
- 1752
- oil on canvas, 45 1/4 x 57 1/8"
- Located in Ecole Nationale Superieure des Beaux-arts, Paris
- Psyche Shows Her Sisters the Presents She Has Received From Cupid
- 1753-1752
- oil on canvas, 65 3/4 x 75 5/8"
- Located in The National Gallery London, London
- Winter
- c. 1753-1756
- oil on canvas,31 1/2 x 64 1/2"
- Located in Los Angeles County Museum of ArtLos Angeles County Museum of ArtThe Los Angeles County Museum of Art is an art museum in Los Angeles, California. It is located on Wilshire Boulevard along Museum Row in the Miracle Mile vicinity of Los Angeles, adjacent to the George C. Page Museum and La Brea Tar Pits....
- Diana and Endymion
- c. 1753/1756
- oil on canvas, 94.9 x 136.8 cm
- Located in the National Gallery of ArtNational Gallery of ArtThe National Gallery of Art and its Sculpture Garden is a national art museum, located on the National Mall between 3rd and 9th Streets at Constitution Avenue NW, in Washington, DC...
1765-1770
- The SwingThe Swing (painting)The Swing , also known as The Happy Accidents of the Swing , is an 18th century oil painting by Jean-Honoré Fragonard. It is considered as one of the masterpieces of the rococo era.-The painting:...
- The painting was originally commissioned by a wealthy baron in homage to his beloved.
- 1767
- oil on canvas, 81 x 64.2 cm
- Located in London in The Wallace Collection
- The Shirt Withdrawn
- c. 1770
- Oil on canvas, 35 x 42 cm
- Musée du Louvre, Paris
Further Reading
- Brown, Milton W., George R. Collins, Beatrice Farwell, Jane G. Mahler, and Margaretta Salinger. "Jean-Honoré Fragonard." Encyclopedia of Painting: Painters and Paintings of the World from Prehistoric Times to the Present Day. Ed. Myers S. Bernard. Crown, 1955. 182-83. Print.