Jean-Honoré Fragonard was a French painter of the 18th century. He was known for participating in both the Neoclassical and Rococo movements with his artwork. During this deep analysis on one his greatest works,“Young Girl Reading” by Jean Honoré Fragonard (1769), you’ll be able to learn more about the story behind the painting. Before you begin reading, do you believe Fragonard faced any criticism from the public because of his paintings? Do you think that the paintings he made after the French Revolution received good praise? What sort of impact do you predict Fragonard had during the Neoclassical and Rococo movements?
Born as the son of a haberdasher’s assistant, Jean-Honoré Fragonard was very intrigued by art from a very young age. Before moving to Paris, France with the rest of his family in 1738, Fragonard was born around 900km away in Grasse, France, where he was apprenticed to a lawyer in 1747. The lawyer noticed young Fragonard’s interest of drawing, and suggested that he should be taught painting instead. The following year, François Boucher then accepted Fragonard to become his new pupil, and immediately began training him. After Fragonard’s elementary training, on September 17th, 1756, he got accepted to go to the French Academy located in Rome, alongside other scholarship winners. At the academy, Fragonard copied several paintings by Roman Baroque artists with his friend, a French painter by the name of Hubert Robert, with whom he sketched Roman countrysides with. He stayed in the academy for a while after his scholarship ended in July of 1759, until a rich French amateur artist named Jean-Claude Richard, abbé de Saint-Non, was going to become his future chief patrons. In 1760, Saint-Non took Fragonard and Robert on a tour of Italy. There, both artists studied all the Italian art they had to offer. Up until the year 1769, where he married Marie-Anne Gérard from Grasse, he exhibited paintings such as “The Swing”, (1767) and “Coresus Sacrificing Himself to Save Callirhoe” (1765), where it was purchased for King Louis XV. After getting married, he then received the accolade of fashion. He later got inspired by domestic scenes inspired by romantic novels and philosophers like Jean-Jacques Rousseau, right after falling in love with his wife’s 14 year old sister, Marguerite. Fragonard then turned from painting Rococo paintings, to Neoclassical paintings and developed a style that will never be forgotten. Even after his almost unnoticeable death on August 22, 1806 in Paris, France, paintings that had such an impact after the French Revolution, where his paintings were deemed as “too closely associated with the pre-Revolutionary period”, were “The Fountain of Love”, (1785), and…
“Young Girl Reading” , (1769) is part of a series called “fantasy portraits,” where Fragonard’s models were dressed in costumes and fancy clothing. In 1769, Jean-Honoré Fragonard painted a group of works now known as his fantasy figures. They consisted of bright colored paintings with loose brushstrokes and vibrant colors. Young Girl Reading shows a shy model in a bright yellow dress sitting on a comfy chair/ window ledge and holding a book in one hand, reading it. Her fancy dress represented her social status, which was most likely of the upper class. The environment represents a space for private thought, and the book represents an escape or self reflection, or something simple like curiosity and knowledge. Delicate brushstrokes show her blushing cheeks on the model’s face. Dramatic and bold strokes of color make up her dress, ribbons, and seat cushion. By dragging his paintbrush through wet paint, Fragonard made the lace around her neck and the bodice of her dress. The colors in this painting symbolize life and youthful energy. Unlike other paintings in the series, the model is not facing the viewer, which makes this painting stand out compared to the other ones in Fragonard’s series. Some sources say he apparently painted each of these 81 × 65 cm portraits in his series in one hour.
Fragonard’s Impact
Jean-Honoré Fragonard made a big impact with his art in the Rococo and Neoclassical movements, especially with his fun and lighthearted paintings about love and beauty, like “Young Girl Reading” by Jean Honoré Fragonard (1769). This painting is one of Fragonard’s most loved, but also the most mysterious, sparking a lot of debate. He might’ve painted to might represent real people or just a made up girl reading a book to continue his fantasy portrait series. Like previously mentioned, people didn’t seem to like his art because it too playful since it focused on things like love and fun, especially after the French Revolution, where people wanted more serious art. Even though some didn’t appreciate it during Fragonard’s time alive, his paintings still influenced future artists and are now loved for their bright colors and the way they show deep feelings like romantic desires and youthfulness. How do you think Fragonard’s playful style influenced other artists in the years after the French Revolution? Do you believe that the lighthearted themes in Fragonard’s work were misunderstood during his time? Do you believe Fragonard’s work helped shape the Rococo and Neoclassical movements to what it is today? Thank you for following along and do not forget to click the comment button on the right-hand side to share your opinions and critiques on this matter! To read more articles, scroll down and click the “The Art of Love” tag in red! Tune in for more.
Sources:
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- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Honor%C3%A9_Fragonard
- https://artincontext.org/jean-honore-fragonard/
- https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jean-Honore-Fragonard
- https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.46303.html
- https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Young_Girl_Reading
- https://www.nga.gov/features/fantasy-figures-identified.html
- https://www.nga.gov/features/fantasy-figures-identified/hidden-portrait.html
