FRAGONARD, Jean-Honoré
(b. 1732, Grasse, d. 1806, Paris)

The Stolen Kiss

1787-89
Oil on canvas, 45 x 55 cm
The Hermitage, St. Petersburg

This late masterpiece by Fragonard shows the influence of the 17th-century Dutch painters such as Gabriel Metsu and Gerard Terborch.

In a brief period before the French Revolution, Fragonard combined the seemingly incompatible: Dutch sensitivity to the texture of materials and nuances of light with Neoclassical stringency in construction.




© Web Gallery of Art, created by Emil Krén and Daniel Marx.