Fragonard : drawing triumphant : works from New York collections /

This lavishly illustrated exhibition catalogue makes an original argument about the interplay of drawing, etching, and painting in Jean-Honoré Fragonard's creative process. A leading expert in the field, Stein (curator of French drawings and prints, Metropolitan Museum of Art) offers three scholarly essays (two her own, the other by Dupuy-Vachey), complete entries for each work under consideration, and a biographical chronology. The essays and entries are eminently readable; they not only make new claims about Fragonard's work but also define key drawing and print techniques, analyze the artist's critical fortunes, and present new information about the work of Marguerite Gérard, Fragonard's sister-in-law and student. Perrin and her collaborators argue that Fragonard's drawings and etchings were, strictly speaking, neither studies for paintings nor copies after them; rather they resulted from an inventive practice of variation, revision, and repetition. The contributors' thorough research into all aspects of the artist's career--and their engagement with the most recent French- and English-language scholarship on Fragonard, art institutions, and collecting practices--makes the book an important source on Fragonard for nonspecialists as well as scholars of the artist. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty and professionals; general readers. --Amy Freund, Southern Methodist University