Love the Sentinel
c. 1773/1776
Medium
oil on canvas
Dimensions
overall (oval): 55.9 x 46.7 cm (22 x 18 3/8 in.) framed: 83.8 x 62.2 x 10.2 cm (33 x 24 1/2 x 4 in.)
Classification
Painting
Department
CF
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
In memory of Kate Seney Simpson
Accession Number
1947.2.2
Art Historical Context
Jean Honoré Fragonard *Love the Sentinel* (c. 1773/1776) is a delightful oil-on-canvas painting in an elegant oval format, measuring 55.9 x 46.7 cm. This intimate scale suits its Rococo charm, a style Fragonard mastered as one of France’s leading 18th-century artists. Known for his exuberant brushwork, soft pastel hues, and playful depictions of romance, Fragonard captures fleeting moments of courtship amid the opulent world of the Ancien Régime. Created during the twilight of Louis XV’s reign, the work evokes the sensual frivolity of aristocratic life, possibly alluding to lovers evading a w...
About the Artist
Jean Honoré Fragonard · 1732–1806
Jean-Honoré Fragonard (1732-1806) was a French painter and printmaker whose late Rococo manner was distinguished by remarkable facility, exuberance, and hedonism. Born in Grasse, he moved to Paris where he trained under Jean-Baptiste Chardin and François Boucher, winning the prestigious Prix de Rome in 1752. After studying in Italy alongside Hubert Robert, Fragonard returned to Paris in 1761 to fi...