Skip to content

FRAGONARD, Jean-Honoré: The Progress of Love: The Meeting

🖼 The Progress of Love: The Meeting, 1773
Oil on canvas
318 × 244 cm
New York, USA

Created in 1773 for the Parisian collector Bergeret, this painting is the opening panel of an ambitious four-part series celebrating the stages of romantic courtship, blending theatrical drama with intimate tenderness. The artist's masterful brushwork and delicate color palette—dominated by pale blues, pinks, and golden tones—create an atmosphere of fleeting pleasure and refined elegance that epitomizes the French aristocracy's romanticized vision of love.

The story of art
The story of art
E. H. Gombrich
tap to buy ↗
We recommend Bookshop.org — supports independent bookstores
We recommend Bookshop.org — supports independent bookstores