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Showing posts with label The Progress of Love. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Progress of Love. Show all posts
The Progress of Love: The Love Letters
The Progress of Love: The Lover Crowned
After a delightful stroll and possibly delightful encounters in the gardens at Louveciennes, guests would re-enter the Salon du Roi through a set of two large glass doors. Upon entering the room they would see on the wall opposite the garden the final two pieces of the Progress of Love by Fragonard. Again, each piece depicts a scene unique to its frame, with unique characters, settings and situations.The setting, as in all the pieces, is a lush overgrown yet planned garden. The two main figures sit among the concealed architecture with a statute over their shoulders. Flora grows around them and a third figure is seated in the lower corner. The girl, sits looking up and over her shoulder as she holds out a wreath of flowers above the head of the boy. The boy sits at her lap
and holds her hand and with his other hand holds her arm. With a smile on his face he looks up at her face adoringly. Above the two is a statue of cupid sleeping (or a generic putto.)The figure in the lower corner is an artist, who is sketching the scene before his (and our) eyes. This implies that we have not entered on some planned or unplanned spontaneous liaison, but rather an arranged scene for the purpose of art. The artist most likely has set the couple up in this dynamic setting for the purpose of a pleasing composition. An instrument and book of music sit next to them as props, still opened to the last song 'played.' Even the color of the garments both figures wear tell us this; the warm and bright colors make them stand out from the cool earthy garden.
The scene is prearranged for the sake of good art. So technically the scene has been set to display something - display a part of the progress of love. Don't get confused with this one! Our figures, and we do not know their back story as we have not met them before, are posing to mimic a familiar 18th century motif (actually the motif goes way back but was well known in the 1700s.) In the 18th century the idea of the lover crowned had to do with the idea of marriage and consummating a marriage. So our lovers are demonstrating their love by having the artwork created. The artist is making a permanent record of the couple at a particular stage of love (or of their love.)Even cupid has been premeditated here, for he is sleeping because he has nothing to do, they are already in love and they know it! So the little statue of cupid sleeps the day away while the lovers go on making floral garlands and doing flirty things. Ah young love!
The Progress of Love: The Pursuit
The Progress of Love: The Meeting
The Progress of Love: The Meeting
Welcome back to Louveciennes, and let me introduce The Meeting. This was the second work in Fragonard's group of paintings commissioned by Madame du Barry at her pavilion, which we call The Progress of Love.The scene is set in another lush pleasure
garden, where nature overtakes architecture. The trees, with their full and knotted branches, suggest both movement and a concealment. It seems so easy to conceal a tryst within the English garden foliage....The Meeting, at first glance, might be taken for a "storming of the citadel" scene. The young man used an unnecessary ladder to scale the short wall where an innocent lady is unattended. (An A for effort?) But the more popular theme at the time was a bit more risqué than the old medieval citadel. Here we have a planned meeting among the garden. Both parties have premeditated the arrangement and we just happen to walk in on them at this undisclosed time.
It is not, however, us who catches them! A rustling in the leaves, and maybe some low banter grabs our ladies attention. Just as her, dare I say...lover, is approaching, someone else approaches from the left! That old catholic guilt (or possibly desire to avoid scandal) kicks in and we see the girl in a sheer moment of panic. She moves to tell the boy to stop and be quiet, and looks over her shoulder to see if the approaching voices can see her.The boy stops immediately and looks to see what is
happening. He is caught at such an awkward moment of movement that he crouches half over the wall not knowing whether to fall back, over or just freeze like a statue. Of course the statues are above and we have Venus and Cupid. The direction Venus looks corresponds to the direction of the unexpected visitors!If you remember from last time, The Pursuit was painted to be displayed on the far wall of Madame du Barry's room, next to the large glass doorway to the garden. The Meeting was painted to sit to the right of The Pursuit. So, in effect we have two large paintings of delightful scenes that are set in pleasure gardens. Between them are glass doors to the actual garden creating an illusion of a large open wall.
The idea that someone, uninvited, is intruding on the couple is heightened by the placement of the doorway to the garden. Are we the intruders as we approach the glass doors? Or! At this moment the old Comte de Foufou is walking through the glass doors from the garden! How embarrassing, now it would appear that he is the intruder! Or a final scenario... now that we have seen the risqué rendez-vous that almost happened perhaps we can expect to wander in on more of these meetings when we enter the garden. Better yet....perhaps we can count on having a rendez-vous in the garden!The Progress of Love: The Pursuit
The Progress of Love: The Pursuit
The Progress of Love is a group of four canvas paintings by Fragonard. The commission came from Madame Du Barry, between 1770 and 1773, to adorn the walls of her pavilion at Louveciennes. This set of paintings are extra fun because, Du Barry decided she did not want them after Fragonard had already created them. There are theories why she decided to refuse them but the most fun is that all the male figures in the paintings resembled King Louis XV! I am sure that there were other reasons -
besides, everyone knew she was his favorite anyway!He kept the works at his cousin's place, and today they are on display at The Frick (which I can not recommend enough!) Unfortunately they are not displayed as they were intended to be, but they are still just as fabulous!
The Pursuit is set, along with the other panels, in a pleasure garden. The exact place we all wish we could hang out, all day, everyday! Highlighted by warm sunlight, three young girls lay before a fountain at play. Our leading lady sees the boy to the right, who is hidden behind a garden element and camouflaged by his pale clothing.In an exaggerated action, the girl makes a run for it. And by it, I do not mean she runs for the boy, she is escaping! Her body twist severely and her arms are thrown upwards, her dress and ribbon become caught up around her in the sudden movement.
The garden, particularly the trees in the background mimic this sudden dash. Branches, weighed down by heavy green leafage, create dramatic diagonals that lead the upward and to the right. A
particular tree bends over the top of the fountain, framing this element. Which leads me to her companions.Her companions stay at her feet, and they lay/sit in clumsy positions. Their positions reflect those of the two putti in the upper part of the fountain. This happens between figures and statues in the other canvases too. These little guys are awkwardly forced to twist and turn as they try to cling on to their subject (a whale or fish? You can fill me in on that one). The girls companions here, however do not appear to cling, but rather push the subject off- the three of them opponents to the suitor. The Pursuit is all action and surprise!
The suitor really does not deserve this treatment! He is polished and amiable. He is not hard on the eyes either. And if he is rendered after Louis, well, the we can agree that he wasn't unfortunate in the looks department as a boy! He approaches her, removes his hat and offers her a rose from the garden. His gracious gesture is right in line with courtly etiquette, obviously his mother taught him well. Imagine the game he'll have when he is in his 30's!Our figures do not seem to have planned their meeting, instead the girls had a play date and were interrupted by the interested boy. A total ambush! In a playful and exciting manner she moves to evade his pursuits, and we see a fun naive moment of love, one sided or not...
The full series:
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