THE FRAGONARD ROOM "NOWHERE is Fragonard seen to better advantage,” writes Lady Dilke of this remarkable series of decorations which she saw when they were in the house of M. Malvilain at Grasse in Provence, the home of the painter during his last years. The panels had been hung against the walls of the Salon with no effort towards decorative unity. When they passed into the possession of Mr. Morgan, he caused a room to be designed in which the paintings could be given a proper setting. The room was set up in Mr. Morgan's house in London. When the paintings were sent to America, the woodwork and plaster cornice of this room were placed at the Museum's disposal, so that it has been possible practically to reproduce the effect which the pictures had in Prince's Gate. The Romance of Love and Youth is the title which has been given the entire set, though without the authority of Fragonard, who, as far as is known, never named them. The pictures were begun about 1772 for the Pavilion of Louveciennes (Luciennes), which Louis XV was building But for Mme. Du Barry from designs by Ledoux. For some unknown reason they were never put in place, but remained on the artist's hands. According to gossip Mme. Du Barry declined to receive them, being displeased with the subject of the picture, in which the heroine is shown mourning her abandonment by a faithless lover. She could not reasonably be expected to care to have such a possibility continually before her eyes or those of her visitors. The subject was, at least, undiplomatic. whatever the cause, the pictures were in Fragonard's studio in Paris for almost twenty years. During the Terror in 1793 he had them removed to Grasse, his native town, and placed them in the house of M. Maubert, with whom he lived. Here they remained practically unknown until 1898, when they were sold at auction by M. Malvilain, the grandson of M. Maubert. Messrs. Agnew were their purchasers, and in the autumn of the same year they were exhibited in London, when Mr. Morgan bought them. The pictures are as follows: 2 I THE PURSUIT (La Poursuite). The heroine with outstretched arms runs away from her admirer, who offers her a rose. Her companions try to hold her. THE MEETING (Le Rendez-vous). The heroine sits on the grass by a statue. Her lover climbs the wall by means of a ladder. She looks over her shoulder as though fearing that she might be seen. Fragonard has given the pair the features of Mme. Du Barry and her Royal gallant, though much rejuvenated in both cases. 3 MEMORIES (Les Souvenirs). The heroine sits on a stone pedestal in a park, looking over old letters. stands by her, his arm around her waist. Her lover 4 THE LOVER CROWNED (L'Amant Couronné). The couple pose for a painter. The lover sits at his mistress's feet, and she holds over his head a crown of flowers. Portalis says (Fragonard, 1889). "This canvas is pictorically the splendid climax of all that has gone before. It shows the official triumph of love following upon the more intimate, the truer triumph that has preceded it. The colours in the paintings which open the series have, for all their exquisiteness, been tempered by a certain moderation. Here they burst forth in full splendour, in full passion, making together a bold and ringing harmony breathing forth a very pæan of victory." 5 THE ABANDONMENT (L'Abandon). This, the final scene of the series, takes place in a garden in autumn. The heroine is seated alone at the foot of a column surmounted by a sundial fashioned as a Cupid sitting on the world. 6 LOVE THE VICTOR (L'Amour Vainquer). (This is the first of the minor designs, meant as subsidiary to the general theme of the main ones.) Cupid holding two torches flies above the clouds. In front two winged babies are kissing, and back of him are two others, one playing a cymbal, the other holding wreaths. A fifth in shadow, symbolizing Discord, holds a dagger in one hand and a bridle in the other. 7 LOVE THE JESTER (L'Amour Folie). Cupid flying holds a jester's bauble. 8 LOVE CHASING A DOVE (L'Amour Poursuivant une Colombe). 9 LOVE AS A SENTINEL (L'Amour en Sentinelle). Cupid stands beside a rose bush, holding an arrow; his quiver is on the ground before him. |