Jean-Honoré FragonardFrancia, 1732–1806The First Steps
Sul dipinto
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
Scheda
- Numero di inventario
- 1961.166
Nel frattempo, nella vita di Jean-Honoré Fragonard
Tutta la vita1778
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 ottobre 1780
Son born: Alexandre-Évariste Fragonard
