Jean-Honoré Fragonard

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Jean-Honoré Fragonard
1732-1806
A Boy Carried into a Salon (La Récompense). Verso: faint sketch of figures under a tree
1780-85
Black ink wash and black chalk, with incised lines, on laid paper; verso: black chalk.
16 15/16 x 13 1/2 inches (430 x 343 mm)
Purchased as the gift of the Fellows and with the special assistance of Walter Baker, Mme. Renée de Becker, Francis Kettaneh, Mrs. Paul Moore, John S. Newberry, Jr., Mr. and Mrs. Carl Stern, Mrs. Herbert N. Straus, and Forsyth Wickes.
1955.5
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Notes: 

Watermark: none.
Fragonard produced this loose and lively preliminary sketch in preparation for a more finished drawing, now in a private collection (and historically in the collection of Eudoxe Marcille; 1814-1890). Traces of incised lines reveal that he transferred the outline of the scene to a new sheet which would become the final drawing.
The scene has been titled “The Reward” or “He wins the prize”, referring to the boy being borne into the room with great fanfare. A pendant drawing, also known through a rough sketch and finished design, is often referred to as “The Competition”, suggesting a narrative. These titles, however, have their origins in the nineteenth century and cannot be supported. The subject of childhood education could relate to specific individuals or may have been meant to illustrate a contemporary text devoted to the subject.

Provenance: 
Hippolyte Walferdin (1795-1880), Paris; his sale, Paris, Hôtel Drouot, 12-16 April 1880, part of lot 261; Camille Groult (1832-1908), Paris; anonymous sale, Paris, Hôtel Drouot, 19 December 1941, lot 46, pl. III, to Ancel; Madame Mottart; her estate sale, Paris, Galerie Charpentier, 8 February 1945, no. 38, pl. XXV; purchased by Mme Rochefort (according to Ananoff); Jean Lansade, Paris; Galerie de Bayser, Paris.
Associated names: 

Walferdin, Hippolyte, former owner.
Groult, Camille, 1832-1908, former owner.
Ancel, former owner.
Mottart, Mme., former owner.
Baker, Walter C., donor.
Becker, Renée de, Mme., donor.
Kettaneh, Francis Anthony Bernard, 1897-1976, former owner.
Moore, Paul, Mrs., donor.
Newberry, John S., Jr., donor.
Stern, Carl, donor.
Stern, Anne Bigelow, donor.
Straus, Herbert N., Mrs., donor.
Wickes, Forsyth, donor.

Bibliography: 

Adams, Frederick B., Jr. Seventh Annual Report to the Fellows of the Pierpont Morgan Library. New York : Pierpont Morgan Library, 1957, pp. 76-79.
Alexandre Ananoff, "L'Oeuvre dessiné de Jean-Honoré Fragonard, 1732-1806", 4 vols. , Paris, 1961-1970, II, no. 605, fig. 193.
Pierpont Morgan Library. Review of Acquisitions, 1949-1968. New York : Pierpont Morgan Library, 1969, p. 145.
Pierpont Morgan Library. Major Acquisitions of the Pierpont Morgan Library, 1924-1974. New York : Pierpont Morgan Library, 1974. Vol. 2: Drawings, no. 29.
Denison, Cara D., and Helen B. Mules, with the assistance of Jane V. Shoaf. European Drawings, 1375-1825. New York : Pierpont Morgan Library, 1981, no. 106, repr.
Denison, Cara D. French Drawings, 1550-1825. New York : Pierpont Morgan Library, 1984, no. 72.
Denison, Cara D. French Master Drawings in the Pierpont Morgan Library. New York : Pierpont Morgan Library, 1993, no. 71, repr. in color.
Stein, Perrin, et al. Fragonard: Drawing Triumphant: Works from New York Collections, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2016, no. 99.

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Artist page: 
Fragonard, Jean-Honoré
School: 
French
Century: 
18th century
Classification: 
Drawing
Department: 
Drawings and Prints