Circle of Jean-Honoré Fragonard, Gathering with Young Lovers, 18th Century, Watercolour, Framed

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An original 18th-century watercolour painting, Circle of Jean-Honoré Fragonard, Gathering with Young Lovers.An intriguing miniature study in grisaille with a … Read more An original 18th-century watercolour painting, Circle of Jean-Honoré Fragonard, Gathering with Young Lovers.An intriguing miniature study in grisaille with a possible attribution to Jean-Honoré Fragonard (1732– 1806). The genre scene depicted shows a playful and intimate gathering with young women around a seated man, who appears to be reading to the ladies, most likely poetry, a romantic letter or verse. The figure entering at the right, poised to interrupt the narrative, introduces further dramatic tension to the scene.The voluptuous and flirtatious subject of this small sketch is in the late-Rococo style for which Fragonard became best known. Fragonard was a master of French genre painting, or 'peinture de genre' (which suggested any type of painting that was not history painting), feeding the demands of the wealthy art patrons of Louis XV's pleasure-loving and licentious court. During these years the centre of French society increasingly shifted from the royal palace at Versailles to Paris, where refined social life flourished in the city's more intimate and private town houses. There was a flourishing in popular tastes for images of moral drama, sweet sentiment, and a fascination with the movements of the heart.In grisaille wash on laid paper. Laid down on card mount with window cut verso and presented in a pale taupe window mount.Provenance: William Drummond (Covent Garden Gallery, London).All artworks come with a Certificate of Authenticity and in some cases an accompanying text or artist biography. Signed: No. Inscribed: Inscribed in later hand on verso and on mount. Height: 15.7cm (6.2″) Width: 14.6cm (5.7″) Condition: Small foxing mark to the lower left edge. Minor marks to the mount. Please see photos for detail. Presented: In a window mount. See less