Fragonard

Fragonard, Jean Honore (1732-1806), a French painter, was born at Grasse in Provence. After gaining the grand prix de peinture in 1752, he went to study at Rome. In 1765 his Coresus and Callirrhoe gained him election to the Paris Academy, and until the Revolution, when he was appointed a keeper of the Musee, he continued to paint excellent landscapes after Ruysdael and historical and genre pictures. The latter, many of which are in the La Caze collection in the Louvre, were highly popular on account of their voluptuous grace and fine colouring. In spite of his early success, the artist died poor. His son, Alexandre Evariste (1780-1850), excelled in sculpture and historical painting.