Marie Emilie Coignet de Courson (1716–1806) with a Dog
Fragonard’s so-called fantasy portraits are electric performances: brushed with virtuosity, panache, and speed, he reworked the surface while the paint remained wet, including by incising lines into the large white ruff. The theatrical costume recalls Queen Maria de’ Medici’s court dress from over a century earlier, as depicted in a series of paintings by Peter Paul Rubens that Fragonard saw in the French royal collections. A recently discovered drawing makes it possible to identify this woman as the aristocratic salon hostess Marie Emilie Coignet de Courson. Fragonard’s painterly performance arguably outshines her, however, making this a kind of artist’s self-portrait.
Artwork Details
- Title: Marie Emilie Coignet de Courson (1716–1806) with a Dog
- Artist: Jean Honoré Fragonard (French, Grasse 1732–1806 Paris)
- Date: ca. 1769
- Medium: Oil on canvas
- Dimensions: 32 x 25 3/4 in. (81.3 x 65.4 cm)
- Classification: Paintings
- Credit Line: Fletcher Fund, 1937
- Object Number: 37.118
- Curatorial Department: European Paintings
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