Jean-Honoré Fragonard (1732–1806), Young Girl Seated, 1785
Jean-Honoré Fragonard (1732–1806), Young Girl Seated, 1785, The Courtauld, London (Samuel Courtauld Trust) © The Courtauld

Young Girl Seated

Jean-Honoré Fragonard

This wistful young girl has at times been identified as the artist51²è¹Ý¶ù daughter Rosalie (1769-1788). The traditional title, La ¸é±ð²õ¾±²µ²Ôé±ð (The Resigned One), seems particularly poignant in light of Rosalie51²è¹Ý¶ù death at a very young age.ÌýÌý

The drawing showcases Fragonard51²è¹Ý¶ù remarkable use of red chalk, which was very much admired and praised by the nineteenth-century Goncourt brothers, writers and avid collectors of French eighteenth-century drawings. Vigorous strokes, visible in the sitter51²è¹Ý¶ù bodice, as well as softer, less distinct lines of the slipping shawl, exemplify Fragonard51²è¹Ý¶ù extraordinary dexterity with the handling of the medium.Ìý

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Two men sit across from each other at a table covered with a brown tablecloth, playing cards. Both men wear overcoats and hats, and the man on the left smokes a pipe. They sit inside a wooden building. Paul Cézanne (1839-1906) The Card Players, around 1892-96, The Courtauld, London (Samuel Courtauld Trust)

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