In the 17th century, Louis the fifteenth was on the throne in France and there was an emergence of Rococo painting. This style of painting was seen as light-hearted entertainment that was about love, nature, and amorous rendezvous. Jean Honoré Fragonard, who is said to have defined the Rococo style, painted many types of amorous rendezvous and love scenes. The women in these scenes are often portrayed as mysterious and sensual, like the Roman goddess Venus. Throughout the art's history, there have been many paintings of this roman mythology goddess. For many centuries, she has been portrayed in the female nude or the semi-naked. Venus is the goddess of love, sex, beauty, and fertility. In the Rococo time, there are many artists that have painted Venus in the soft colored and curvature rococo style in the naked/nude style. The pieces in this show were chosen to show how Fragonard portrayed women in the Rococo style as Venus in a 17th-century modern French woman body. This show has pieces in this show span from the early 17th century to the late 18th century showing pieces from the artist himself and other artists from the Rococo period. When looking at these pieces think about how the characteristics of Venus, as well, the characteristics of Rococo painting. Think about the connections that Beauty and Love and how they are portrayed in these pieces of art.
The Birth of Venus
Artist: Jean-Honore Fragonard
Original Title: La Naissance de Vénus
Date: 1753 - 1755
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Musée Grobet-Labadié, Marseille, France
In this painting, there is a woman figure in the middle who is surrounded by other women. She is sitting on a cloud. The cloud is covering her lower half while her top half is exposed. This painting shows the characteristic of Venus, like love and beauty. But also there are Rococo elements like nature that we see in this painting. Many of the women that you see in Fragonard’s paintings have the same features. Such as lighter color hair, pink blushing cheeks, and lighter skin. 
The Love Letter
Artist: Jean Honoré Fragonard (French, Grasse 1732–1806 Paris)
Date: early 1770s
Medium: Oil on canvas
The Met Museum 49.7.49
Fragonard paints a woman holding a bouquet of pink and white flowers in her left hand. In her right, we see a letter with mysterious writing. She is sitting on a light green ottoman, and behind her is a white dog staring intently at the viewer. The young woman is looking over her shoulder at the viewer with a sly smile on her face. This painting is included in the collection because of the beauty which is portrayed through the woman’s smile. Her physical beauty is something contributing to the note and flowers that she has received. 
Allegory of Vigilance
Artist: Jean Honoré Fragonard (French, Grasse 1732–1806 Paris)
Date: ca. 1772
Medium: Oil on canvas
The Met Museum 53.161
In this painting, there is a woman dressed in a pink dress with pink flowers in her hair. She is sitting and reading a book. There is an oil lamp sitting next to her on a stack of books. The woman has her breast exposed and is paying no attention to anything in her surroundings. This painting is in the collection because of the hidden meaning that Fragonard wants the viewer to think about when looking at this painting vigilance. Vigilance is something that a woman or Venus must have about Venus to find love.
The Birth of Venus
Artist: Alexandre Cabanel (French, Montpellier 1823–1889 Paris)
Date: 1875
Medium: Oil on canvas
The Met Museum 94.24.1
In this version of the birth of Venus, there is a woman laying on rocks. Naked and surrounded by cherubs. She has her arms draped up near her head and one over her eyes. You can still see a part of her eyes looking at you even though her arm is over her eyes. Both her breasts are exposed, and her long hair runs down beside her. I chose to have this painting to show the audience how the artist after Fragonard chose to interpret Venus after his renditions. There are characteristics that Cabanel kept from the Rococo style. 
The Swing
Artist: Jean Honoré Fragonard
Date: 1767 - 1768
Medium: Oil on canvas
The Wallace Collection in London P430
Fragonard paints a young woman on the swing with a man behind her pushing her up into the air. Below her, we see a young man in a position where the other man cannot see him looking up the young woman’s dress. The woman on the swing has her left leg extended and is throwing her shoe into the air. In Fragonard’s painting, there are common themes with each painting which you see. In this painting, we see both a love affair unfolding, but an affection that the older man has for the woman on the swing. Venus had two different lovers in roman mythology which could be a foreshadowing of what is happening here. 
The Birth of Venus
Artist: François Boucher, French, 1703-1770
Date: 1765
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Detroit Institute of Arts 29.445
This version of the birth of Venus. In this version, there are many figures. There are figures all around the edges and some figures in the middle. The painting depicts cherubim like figures holding up a female who is either naked or nude. This piece is in the collection because François Boucher is another Rococo artist that painted the birth of Venus when Fragonard was alive and painting. This piece is a reference to how the Rococo artist painted the birth of Venus back in the 17th century. 
No comments:
Post a Comment