Jean-Honoré Fragonard(1732 — 1806)
Jean-Honoré Fragonard
France, monarchie constitutionnelle française
6 min read
French painter and engraver of the 18th century, a major figure of the Rococo style. Renowned for his amorous scenes full of virtuosity and lightness, he embodies the refined art of the waning Ancien Régime.
Frequently asked questions
Key Facts
- Born in 1732 in Grasse, died in 1806 in Paris
- Pupil of Chardin and then of François Boucher
- Won the Prix de Rome in 1752 and stayed in Italy
- Painted The Swing (Les Hasards heureux de l'escarpolette) around 1767, an emblematic work of the Rococo
- His career declined with the French Revolution, which condemned the aristocratic art of the Rococo
Works & Achievements
A history painting that earned him the Prix de Rome at the age of twenty. It reveals his early mastery of grand composition.
The work that opened the doors of the Royal Academy to him and that Diderot praised with admiration. A pinnacle of his ambition in history painting.
His most famous painting, an emblem of the gallant Rococo. A young woman on a swing loses her slipper under the gaze of a hidden suitor.
An intimate, theatrical scene of remarkable virtuosity in its handling of light. It illustrates Fragonard's evolution toward a more dramatic style.
A series of large decorative panels commissioned by Madame du Barry and ultimately rejected. Today it is one of the most admired decorative ensembles of the 18th century.
A portrait of a reader in profile, executed with striking freshness and speed. One of his most famous “figures of fancy.”
A composition of nymphs in a lush landscape, a whirl of flesh and foliage. The manifesto of his Rococo sensuality.
Anecdotes
Fragonard had first been placed as a clerk with a Parisian notary, but he drew constantly instead of copying out legal documents. Faced with this lack of interest in law, his parents agreed to entrust him to a painter, and that is how he became the pupil of Chardin and then of François Boucher.
In 1752, at only twenty years old, he won the prestigious Prix de Rome with his painting *Jeroboam Sacrificing to the Idols*. This award opened the doors of the École royale des élèves protégés to him, followed by a stay of several years in Italy to study the old masters.
His most famous painting, *The Swing* (Les Heureux Hasards de l'escarpolette), is said to have been commissioned by a courtier who wanted to be painted admiring his mistress on a swing pushed by a bishop. A first painter, shocked, refused the subject, and the commission fell to Fragonard.
During the Revolution, the painter Jacques-Louis David, a former rival of the Rococo style but an admirer of the man, saved Fragonard from poverty by securing him a post on the commission charged with organizing the future Louvre museum. The Rococo artist thus became one of the first guardians of the national collections.
Fragonard worked with astonishing speed: some of his *figures de fantaisie*, vividly colored portraits of friends dressed up as romantic characters, are said to have been painted in just one hour, as indicated by inscriptions on the backs of the canvases.
Primary Sources
The High Priest Coresus sacrifices himself to save Callirhoe. Diderot devotes a long reverie to this painting by Fragonard, a sign that it was noticed by the critics of his time.
Record of Jean-Honoré Fragonard's acceptance into the Royal Academy upon presentation of his painting “Coresus and Callirhoe.”
An account reporting that Fragonard, deliberately neglecting the official exhibitions, sold the bulk of his output to private individuals and collectors.
“Painted by Fragonard in 1769 in the space of one hour.” An annotation attesting to the artist's virtuosity and speed of execution.
Key Places
Town in Provence where Fragonard was born in 1732, famous for its perfumeries. He returned there at the end of his life during the Revolution.
Capital where he spent most of his career, studied under Boucher, and died in 1806. It was the heart of the artistic life of the Ancien Régime.
Where Fragonard stayed as a resident after winning his Prix de Rome, studying the Italian masters. This stay left a lasting mark on his art.
Italian gardens whose groves and fountains Fragonard sketched with his friend Hubert Robert. These sketches fed into his future landscapes.
Fragonard obtained an artist's lodging here, then took part in organizing the future museum during the Revolution. The site of his final official role.
