The Two Sisters
A print after this painting documents that it was originally about twice its current size. The doll representing the commedia dell’arte character Polichinelle, currently found at the lower left, originally lay limp over the legs of a toy horse pushed by the older girl, which is now only partially visible. Updating Jean Siméon Chardin’s thematic exploration of children and their relationship to adulthood, Fragonard made the subject his own, building up diaphanous layers of paint on the children’s rosy cheeks and the sea of fabrics in his characteristic palette of yellow, pink, and turquoise. A pastel copy by Fragonard’s patron and friend Jean Claude Richard is also at The Met.
Artwork Details
- Title: The Two Sisters
- Artist: Jean Honoré Fragonard (French, Grasse 1732–1806 Paris)
- Date: ca. 1769–70
- Medium: Oil on canvas
- Dimensions: 28 1/4 x 22 in. (71.8 x 55.9 cm)
- Classification: Paintings
- Credit Line: Gift of Julia A. Berwind, 1953
- Object Number: 53.61.5
- Curatorial Department: European Paintings
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