biography
| name: |
Fragonard, Jean Honoré
|
pronunciation:
[fragonah(r)]
| sex:
| male
|
| lived:
| (1732–1806)
|
| biography:
| Painter and engraver, born in Grasse, SE France. At age 10 he moved to Paris with his family and studied under Chardin and Boucher (1750–2). He was awarded the Prix de Rome in 1752 at his first attempt with Jereboam Sacrificing to the Idols (École des Beaux-Arts, Paris). A prolific and versatile painter, he was the last of the French Rococo artists, influenced by the Dutch masters, Hals and Rubens. A brilliant technician, he painted, with a loose touch and luscious colouring, genre pictures of contemporary life, the amours of the French court (notably ‘The Progress of Love’ for Madame du Barry, 1771, Frick Collection, New York), and landscapes foreshadowing Impressionism. He spent five years at the French Academy in Rome (1756–61). His major works include ‘Coresus and Callirrhoé’ (1765, Louvre), ‘Portrait de Denis Diderot’ (1769, Louvre), and ‘The Swing’ (1767, Wallace Collection, London). The French Revolution ruined his career. |
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