Past Exhibition

Fragonard: The Fantasy Figures

Shown from the lap up, a young woman with pale skin, wearing a goldenrod-yellow dress, sits reading a small book, facing our left in profile in this vertical painting. The deep, scooped neckline of her rich yellow gown is edged with lace and decorated with a mauve-purple bow at the bust. Her chest is covered by sheer white fabric under a ruffled, pleated collar. The ruff is tied at the back with another mauve bow, and a ribbon of the same color ties up her chestnut-brown hair. She has a delicate nose and rosebud mouth, and she tips her head down to read the book she holds in one hand. She sits against an oversize pillow streaked with pale lilac and deep rose pink. Her left arm, closer to us, is draped over a railing that extends across the width of the canvas. The background behind her is streaked with tan and muted teal blue. A vertical strip of light caramel brown along the right edge of the canvas suggests another wall against which the pillow rests. The artist’s loose, lively brushstrokes are visible throughout.
Jean Honoré Fragonard, Young Girl Reading, c. 1769, oil on canvas, Gift of Mrs. Mellon Bruce in memory of her father, Andrew W. Mellon, 1961.16.1

Details

  • Dates

    -

  • Locations

    West Building, Main Floor, Northeast Galleries
Shown from the lap up, a young woman with pale skin, wearing a goldenrod-yellow dress, sits reading a small book, facing our left in profile in this vertical painting. The deep, scooped neckline of her rich yellow gown is edged with lace and decorated with a mauve-purple bow at the bust. Her chest is covered by sheer white fabric under a ruffled, pleated collar. The ruff is tied at the back with another mauve bow, and a ribbon of the same color ties up her chestnut-brown hair. She has a delicate nose and rosebud mouth, and she tips her head down to read the book she holds in one hand. She sits against an oversize pillow streaked with pale lilac and deep rose pink. Her left arm, closer to us, is draped over a railing that extends across the width of the canvas. The background behind her is streaked with tan and muted teal blue. A vertical strip of light caramel brown along the right edge of the canvas suggests another wall against which the pillow rests. The artist’s loose, lively brushstrokes are visible throughout.
Jean Honoré Fragonard, Young Girl Reading, c. 1769, oil on canvas, Gift of Mrs. Mellon Bruce in memory of her father, Andrew W. Mellon, 1961.16.1

Combining art, fashion, science, and conservation, this revelatory exhibition brings together—for the first time—some 14 of the paintings known as the fantasy figures by Jean Honoré Fragonard (1732–1806). He is considered among the most characteristic and important French painters of his era, and the fantasy figure series—several rapidly executed, brightly colored paintings of lavishly costumed individuals—are some of his most beloved works. The subjects are depicted posed at leisure or employed in various pursuits, such as acting, reading, writing, playing instruments, or singing.

Fragonard’s fantasy figures are shown alongside a newly discovered drawing covered with 18 thumbnail-sized sketches and apparently annotated in the rococo artist's own hand. The drawing, Sketches of Portraits, emerged at a Paris auction in 2012 and upended several long-held assumptions about the fantasy figures: 14 of the sketches have been identified with these paintings, and four presumably relate to works that remain unknown. All but one of the sketches are annotated with a name, presumably that of the person portrayed or the individual who commissioned the corresponding painting—thereby putting to rest a long-standing debate over whether the fantasy figures depict known individuals or imaginary models. At the National Gallery of Art, the emergence of this drawing prompted a two-year investigation of Young Girl Reading, conducted as a collaborative effort by Yuriko Jackall, assistant curator of French paintings, John K. Delaney, senior imaging scientist, and Michael Swicklik, senior conservator of paintings. Their findings establish Young Girl Reading as a part of the fantasy figure series and shed light upon Fragonard's approach to the ensemble as a whole.

Building upon this research, the exhibition explores the many interpretations of this series in the context of the artist's career and elucidates the development of that career, the identity of his sitters and patrons, and the significance of his innovative imagery. Fragonard strove to create a specific portrait type that showcased the painterly skill for which he was renowned. Created within the competitive atmosphere of the Parisian art world, these works were influenced by a range of events, artworks, and visitors to his studio. Shaped by artistic imagination, these paintings pushed the boundaries of accepted figure painting in the 18th century.

#FragonardFantasy

Organization: Organized by the National Gallery of Art, Washington.

Attendance: 62,887

Catalog: Fragonard The Fantasy Figures. By Yuriko Jackall. Washington, D.C. : National Gallery of Art, 2017. 

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