The First Riding Lesson (La première leçon d'équitation)

Jean-Honoré Fragonard

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Object Label

In this scene doting parents and a patient dog help a child learn how to ride. Their gentle instruction makes a striking contrast with the negligent and compromised behavior of the impoverished parents amid urban squalor depicted by William Hogarth in his contemporaneous Gin Lane, on view nearby.

Jean-Honoré Fragonard’s best-known works are playful scenes of lovers and happy families rendered with a lively touch. In addition to intimate paintings and large commissions for his elite clientele, he also produced many large-scale wash drawings like this one, which were considered finished works of art rather than preparatory studies for paintings.

Caption

Jean-Honoré Fragonard French, 1732–1806. The First Riding Lesson (La première leçon d'équitation), ca. 1778. Brown ink and graphite on laid paper, 13 11/16 x 17 3/4 in. (34.8 x 45.1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Alastair B. Martin, the Guennol Collection, 57.189. No known copyright restrictions

Gallery

Not on view

Collection

European Art

Title

The First Riding Lesson (La première leçon d'équitation)

Date

ca. 1778

Geography

Place made: France

Medium

Brown ink and graphite on laid paper

Classification

Drawing

Dimensions

13 11/16 x 17 3/4 in. (34.8 x 45.1 cm)

Credit Line

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Alastair B. Martin, the Guennol Collection

Accession Number

57.189

Rights

No known copyright restrictions

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