Young Girl Reading
c. 1769
Medium
oil on canvas
Dimensions
overall: 81.1 x 64.8 cm (31 15/16 x 25 1/2 in.) framed: 104.9 x 89.5 x 2.2 cm (41 5/16 x 35 1/4 x 7/8 in.)
Classification
Painting
Department
CF
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of Mrs. Mellon Bruce in memory of her father, Andrew W. Mellon
Accession Number
1961.16.1
Rights
Public Domain
Art Historical Context
Jean Honoré Fragonard’s *Young Girl Reading*, painted around 1769, offers a charming glimpse into the private world of an 18th-century young woman absorbed in a book. Executed in on canvas, the work measures roughly 81 by 65 centimeters and now resides in the collection of the National Gallery of Art, a gift from Mrs. Mellon Bruce. Fragonard, a leading figure of the French Rococo movement, specialized in lively yet intimate scenes that captured the elegance and leisure of his time. The painting’s soft brush and luminous palette invite viewers to share the sitter’s quiet concentration. Rather than grand historical subjects, Fragonard here celebrates a simple, everyday moment, reflecting the period’s growing interest in personal experience and education. The gentle tilt of the girl’s head and the delicate play of light across her dress demonstrate the artist’s skill at suggesting both texture and emotion with apparent ease. As a prime example of Rococo genre painting, *Young Girl Reading* continues to enchant visitors with its warmth and immediacy, reminding us how art can transform ordinary moments into lasting pleasures.
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...