Marie Antoinette's

To mark the birthday of  Jean-Honoré Fragonard, I thought we could take a look back at some fun posts about the famous artist who worked throughout the eighteenth century.

This post focuses on the fourth piece to complete Fragonard's The Progress of Love (this title for the series is more recently given).  The panel is now call The Love Letters.  If you have not already, check out the other posts in this series, linked at the bottom of this post.

Unidentified Artist (French, active late 18th to early 19th century), Portrait of an Artist in her Studio, ca. 1790, oil on canvas 29 x 27½ in. (76 x 70 cm). Collection Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers. Gift of The Samuel H. Kress Foundation; transfer from the New Jersey State Museum. Photo Jack Abraham.

Jean Honore Fragonard, Madame Bergeret de Norinval. Musee Cognacq-Jay. Paris.

Have you seen this portrait in person? I do not remember seeing it when I was there, but I just adore it and am putting it on my ever growing list of must-sees!

Here is a more famous work, by Boucher. Same Madame Bergeret? She certainly had good taste in artists!

François Boucher, Madame Bergeret. Oil on canvas, 1746. The National Gallery of Art (Washington, D.C.).

detail

I am so excited to tell you about this exhibition catalog, because the minute I opened it I saw a painting by Nicolas Lancret I had never seen before! It did not take long before I found several unknown treasures; the beautifully illustrated catalog was put together to accompany the exhibition Intimate Encounters: Love and Domesticity in 18th Century France.

Although the show is over, you can visit it through more than 75 works of art by 39 artists.  The book contains five short essays that walk you through the history of genre painting, the artists, women of fashion and scholars that influenced it and opposed it, while making connections between various forms of art.

Intimate Encounters encourages us to consider the role of genre painting in France. In the 18th century it existed in stark contrast to the more traditional historical style that dominated the Royal Academy.  The soft colors and intimate subjects of genre paintings challenged the tastes of the period and they challenged the artists that tried to present them.

They remain popular even today. This genre reflects the world of various classes, particularly the bourgeois. They even made witty remarks on society during a time when privacy became increasingly more important to many classes.

The genre painting existed as a window to a private setting, where a viewer probably should not be.  Even in scenes of public frivolity the viewer may gaze unseen, spying all the details and scandalous ones at that which occur before them.  Intimate Encounters is wonderfully presented and offers many fascinating approaches to understanding the demand for, popularity and beauty of intimate encounters in art.

The five sections include:
"Love, Domesticity, and the Evolution of Genre Painting In Eighteenth-Century France" by Richard Rand discusses the style and subject of genre painting as a comparable and even challenging style in a society when the highest valued art was traditional and historic painting.


"Hidden from View: French Women Authors and the Language of Rights, 1727-1792" by Virginia E. Swain is a wonderful piece on French women of letters and novelists, including Madame Riccoboni, Madame de Tencin and Madame de Lambert.


"The "Bourgeois" Family Revisited: Sentimentalism and Social Class in Prerevolutionary French Culture" by Sarah Maza discusses the changes in society at various levels; a new desire for privacy in the home is demonstrated in many genre paintings of the 18th century.


"Intimate Dramas: Genre Painting and New Theater in Eighteenth-Century France""Genre Prints in Eighteenth-Century France: Production, Market, and Audience" by Mark Ledbury introduces some of the connections between 18th century genre painting and the 18th century stage; not always obvious, the two art forms share more than you might expect!


"Genre Prints in Eighteenth-Century France: Production, Market, and Audience," by Anne L. Schroder is the last essay in the book.  It focuses on the genre prints of the 18th century, which were more easy to afford as well as create than paintings, yet appealed to members from all ranks of society.

The second half of the book contains the catalog of works from the exhibition.  Several prints accompany the many full color images of works by artists such as Boucher, Chardin, Watteau, Lancret, Greuze and Fragonard.  The works are accompanied with a description and discussion of the work in context.

Rand, Richard, and Juliette M. Bianco. 1997. Intimate encounters: love and domesticity in eighteenth-century France. [Hanover, N.H.]: Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College. ISBN 9780691016634

Intimate encounters is available from:
amazon.com

And I ask you, what were these three doing right before the kiss was stolen? 

Playing a card game! High stakes?

Jacques-Louis David,  Battle between Minerva and Mars. 1771, oil on canvas. Musée du Louvre.

Louis Nicolas de Lespinasse (1734–1808), View of Two Banks of the Seine, Paris. Pen and brown ink and watercolor, heightened with white, over preliminary drawing in graphite; fine ruled border in pen and black ink. The Morgan Library & Museum.

The Morgan Library & Museum is now showing Rococo and Revolution: Eighteenth Century French Drawings, and it is on display until January 3, 2010. This past weekend I had the chance to check out the show featuring works from the Morgan's permanent collection. The artists varied from Watteau, Boucher, Fragonard (tempted yet?) Greuze, Drouais and David.

Jean-Honoré Fragonard (1732–1806), Interior of a Park: The Gardens of Villa d'Este. 18th century, Gouache on vellum. Thaw Collection, The Morgan Library & Museum.

It is downstairs in the Morgan Stanley East Gallery across from their Blake exhibition (also open until January 3). The whole exhibition is in one room set up with display cases down the center, holding plenty of pieces. I was immediately excited to see Fragonard's The Gardens of Villa d'Este and of course the Watteaus!

The fabulous rococo.

The style developed during the reign of Louis XIV and the exhibition covers the end of his reign through that of Louis XVI, until neoclassicism was favored at the wake of the Revolution. The journey from the Sun King to Louis XVI is described through drawing. The show begins with the rich, often irregular compositions of the rococo, made up of intricate and flowing line which forms space and figures. The imagery is very pleasing to the eye, lush landscapes, rolling alleys, private parties and innocent conversations. It is all very attractive.

Jean-Baptiste Oudry (1686-1755), Rendez-vous au carrefour du Puits du Roi, Forêt de Compiègne, or Le Botté du Roi. 18th century, Pen and point of brush and black ink and gray wash, over black chalk, heightened with white, on blue paper faded to light brown. The Morgan Library & Museum.

Pomp and Ceremony

I was caught by a pen and brush drawing by Jean-Baptiste Oudry. The piece is called Meeting at the Carrefour du Puits du Roi, Compiègne forest, or Le Botté du Roi (The Booting of the King). The King in question is Louis XV, and the ceremony (booting of the king) was common. Here we see Louis has stepped down from his coach and is having his boots put on so that he can mount his horse for the hunt. He is attended by his Grand Veneur (Grand Huntsman) on the left and a large party of hunters who watch with apparent delight.

Detail.

The booting of the King was a ceremony and those who had the privilege of chambre entree could attend. Typically le Botté du Roi occurred when the King changed his coat on his way to or from a hunt/walk. If you were of appropriate family/status/background all you had to do was ask the first gentleman of the chambre if you could attend. He could allow up to five suitable persons in, so you would need to get there early!

Versailles

Jacques Rigaud (1681–1754),  Les Dômes. 18th century, Black chalk, pen and gray ink, gray wash. The Morgan Library & Museum.

Les Dômes today. Unknown photographer, c 2009.

Also on display among the drawings is a volume of a series: Recueil choisi des plus belles vues des palais, château, et maisons royales de Paris et des environs by Rigaud. The book contains images of some of the most beautiful sights at Versailles by Rigaud, who was a talent at topographical scenes. The Morgan displays Les Dômes, which was created in preparation for the book. As noted on the website, this image let's us see what is no longer there, the two marble pavilions. And, of course, all the silk.

Charles Joseph Natoire, (1700–1777), The Cascade at the Villa Aldobrandini, Frascati. 1762, Pen and brown and black ink, brown wash, black and red chalk, heightened with white, on light brown paper. The Morgan Library & Museum.

In the mid to later years of the rococo, one artist, Charles Joseph Natoire became director of the French Academy in Rome. Fond of landscapes and the importance of practising them, he encouraged his own students to do the same. The Cascade at the Villa Aldobrandini, Frascati is a beautiful example of a pen and ink landscape, shaded with brown washes. It is absolutely lovely.

Jacques Louis David 1748-1825, Study for Exécution des fils de Brutus. ca. 1785-1786, Pen and black ink with ink wash over black chalk, on laid paper. Thaw Collection, The Morgan Library & Museum.

Revolution

Towards the end of the show, or the other side of the room as I viewed it, were some later works, including Jacques Louis David's Exécution des fils de Brutus. Now neoclassicism is clear, and we have moved a long way from the carefree gardens of Fragonard in style, but also in context.

The drawing shows Brutus at the execution of his own sons. Brutus led a revolt against the last King of Rome and was a leader in creating the republic. His sons plotted to restore the throne, and upon discovery he oversaw their executions. A grave subject yet compelling image. How far we have come indeed.

If you will not be in town before January, you can see selected works from the show (including all of the above images) on the Morgan's website.  The Morgan Library and Museum is on Twitter and updates often with events and fun links:@MorganLibrary (I am @MarieGossip1.) So who is going to the show?

Fragonard, The Goddess Minerva. c. 1772. The Detroit Institute of Arts.

Here I shall supply the art, and YOU supply the stories!

Today I wanted to share the mythological and fictional figures that Fragonard painted. I am not going to give the background story to the figures here, but you can leave the story in the comment section.  Let me know what you think of his treatment of the figures!

The 17th and 18th century saw a rise in the popularity of painting mythological and popular figures. They could be read into and represent the fate of man or even man himself. Louis XIV was known to liken himself with Apollo, hence the sun king was as grand as the sun god.

Artists also had no problem depicting these figures in a most sensual and idyllic way. The result is a pleasing combination of fantastic story and soft alluring imagery.

Court commissions were the best way to stay afloat as a working artist in the 18th century.  Next to that any commission from someone of rank would do.  Fragonard found himself working amongst the court and had years that pulled in 40,000 livres.  For such sums he would work every day, aside from Sundays. 

Even though some years paid off, there were other years that did not go quite as successful - and that is just a truth about arts.  If the commissions were not there, finances would plummet.  Fragonard had his fair share of slow times.  For example if there were a lack of history painting commissions he would not sit idle but paint to a different taste - whichever taste was in the market. 

Opinions on his painting varied.  There was the thought that he was just poorly trained.  Well trained artists would stick to classic work, fantastic history paintings with moral undertones.  Paintings that educated.  Fragonard however, did not receive this "proper training" and as a result he no longer produced "serious work." He was too easily influenced by fashion and bad taste."

Others found that by allowing the fashion of the times influence him and even guide him; he created works that appealed to a large population.  Thus he created commissions for himself, and a demand for the work.  Mastering a style that was current, with an emphasis on playfulness and frivolity, he was able to adapt and survive.  Reinventing his style - like Madonna!

1.  What do you think of it?
2. How much money do you think this watercolor sold for at auction?

Fragonard worked for a month in Tivoli drawing and sketching. Possibly one of his most notable works to come out of his time there was The Gardens of the Villa d'Este, Tivoli (The Little Park). Done in oils, the composition is a view into the garden, where several figures work, relax and tour.

The foreground is lit by a warm glow, possibly from a sun spot, where two figures lounge near the guarding stone lions. A third figure pushes a barrel along the walkway and there are others behind him. The statute behind these figures lead the viewer up to the above garden area, which can be seen through engulfing foliage. The trees bend and create a frame for us, and the figures within are flanked by two large statutes on each side. Through this lush frame appears to be a wide open area, where the sun casts a general daylight and two figures wander, admiring the landscape.

As a whole, the dominating growth of nature really swallows the figures. They become small and almost ant like next to the bushy trees and vines which reach out towards them. Even the stone fencing is swallowed by the flourishing plants. They are not static either. They move and quiver in the wind, swirl around the scene and frame those within. They cast shadow and shade, while overwhelming all that is man-made.