Fragonard : l'enfant chéri de Grasse

Exhibition at the Jean-Honoré Fragonard Museum, Grasse, 19 June – 18 October 2026

Few artists have been able to capture the exuberance, joys and vulnerability of childhood with such delicacy as Jean-Honoré Fragonard (1732–1806). Centred on the infant, he crafts a veritable grammar of gestures and glances, a world of smoothness and gentleness. Beneath the apparent grace of these images lie the mysteries of awakening and the first stirrings of the heart.

This exhibition catalogue explores the theme of motherhood and childhood through a selection of works devoted to family affection and domestic life. Through paintings and drawings from public and private collections, it highlights the artist’s more emotional and human side, offering a poetic perspective on the family and emotional bonds in 18th-century France.

New discoveries in the archives of Grasse and Paris, relating to Fragonard’s early childhood as well as the private lives of some of his most ardent supporters – Marie-Élisabeth de Nicolaÿ, the Richards and the Bergerets… – shed new light on these circles, where cordial relations were accompanied by a rare tolerance towards women’s choices and an uncommon attention paid to the early years of life.