The First Riding Lesson (La première leçon d'équitation)
1 of 9
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
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Artist
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
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
This work may be in the public domain in the United States. Works created by United States and non-United States nationals published prior to 1923 are in the public domain, subject to the terms of any applicable treaty or agreement. You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this work. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). The Museum does not warrant that the use of this work will not infringe on the rights of third parties, such as artists or artists' heirs holding the rights to the work. It is your responsibility to determine and satisfy copyright or other use restrictions before copying, transmitting, or making other use of protected items beyond that allowed by "fair use," as such term is understood under the United States Copyright Act. The Brooklyn Museum makes no representations or warranties with respect to the application or terms of any international agreement governing copyright protection in the United States for works created by foreign nationals. For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.
Have information?
Have information about an artwork? Contact us at