Portrait de Bergeret

Art Historical Context

"Portrait de Bergeret," created around 1770–71, is a captivating etching attributed to Jean Honoré Frard in collaboration with engraver Gilles Demarteau Fragonard, a leading figure of the French Rococo movement, was renowned for his playful, fluid style and intricate depictions of 18th-century society. This portrait likely captures the likeness of a contemporary figure, Bergeret, rendered with the delicate elegance characteristic of Rococo portraiture, emphasizing personality and charm over rigid formality. Etching, the medium here, allowed for remarkable detail and tonal subtlety, with Demarteau's skilled hand translating Fragonard's drawing into a reproducible print. Measuring about 15¼ x 11⅜ inches in its image area, this work exemplifies the technical prowess of printmaking during the late Ancien Régime, bridging painting and graphic arts. Prints like this made elite portraiture accessible beyond oil canvases, disseminating Fragonard's whimsical aesthetic to a wider audience amid shifting tastes toward Neoclassicism. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department, acquired through the Harris Brisbane Dick Fund in 1947, it offers a window into pre-Revolutionary French cultural life. Visitors will appreciate its lively lines and intimate gaze, a testament to the era's love for personal commemoration.

About the Artist

Jean Honoré Fragonard|Gilles Demarteau · 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...