The First Steps

c. 1780-1785 · Painting

May one see it?

Yes, receiving visitors

Harvard Art Museums

Cambridge, United States

Room2220, floor 2, European and American Art, 17th–19th century

On public display.

Checked: 2 days ago
In this state since: Sep 27, 2026
Source: The museum's own collection data

On the map Museum page

About the painting

The First Steps and The Beloved Child date from a period of close collaboration between Fragonard and Marguerite Gérard, his pupil and sister-in-law. The tightness of the foliage and the figures, as well as the compositional structure, suggests Fragonard’s academic training, which is further evident in his drawing for The First Steps, also in the Harvard Art Museums’ collections. However, the sumptuous rendering of the fabrics and the refined brushwork of the mothers’ faces reveal the hand of his pupil, who emerged as a master in her own right by 1790. Both paintings celebrate the joys of maternity, a theme explored in the writings of Jean-Jacques Rousseau. During the French Revolution, motherhood was linked to the ideals of social regeneration, and in 1792 a reproductive print of The First Steps was dedicated to “good Mothers.”

Harvard Art Museums

Particulars

Accession number: 1961.166

In the catalog

Paintings Oil French painting Neoclassicism 18th century French

Sources

Harvard Art Museums: the museum's own open data · fetched 8 days ago
Image: Harvard Art Museums — © President and Fellows of Harvard College

Meanwhile, in the life of Jean-Honoré Fragonard

The whole life

1778
Marguerite Gérard — pupil and assistant
Fourteen-year-old Marguerite Gérard, his wife's sister, became his pupil and assistant.
1780
Birth of his son Alexandre-Évariste
His son Alexandre-Évariste was born, who later became a talented painter, sculptor and lithographer.
26 October 1780
Son born: Alexandre-Évariste Fragonard

All works