Art Gallery

Fragonard, Jean-Honoré (1732-1806), French painter of the rococo style, who became a favorite in the courts of Kings Louis XV and Louis XVI for his delicately colored scenes of romance. Born in Grasse, he formed his style principally on the work of French painter François Boucher, with whom he studied. Fragonard also studied and painted for six years in Italy, where he was influenced by the paintings of Venetian master Giovanni Battista Tiepolo. After 1765 he worked in the rococo style for which he is best known, reflecting the gaiety, frivolity, and voluptuousness of the period. His works of this period are characterized by fluid lines, frothy flowers amid loose foliage, and gracefully posed figures. His chief work was a series of decorative panels commissioned by Madame du Barry, mistress of Louis XV, including the paintings The Pursuit and The Lover Crowned (both 1771-1773, Frick Collection, New York City).