French painter Jean Honoré Fragonard's Stealing a Kiss still adheres to his usual erotic theme of exploring mystery and romance, in which several noble ladies play cards and a young young woman sneaks out of the room to steal her lover. This charming young woman, who leaned over and kissed her lover, and at the same time was afraid of being discovered, turned back to sneakily look at the other people in the next room, stealing the lover in this way, with sweetness in the tense and exciting atmosphere. The whole picture is full of drama, capturing a completely frozen moment in a fleeting moment, like a stage play, two lovers secretly kissing without other people noticing, although they avoid the crowd playing cards, but are caught by the audience.
Flagonard's "Stealing a Kiss"
Judging from the posture of the characters in the painting, the proportions and body movements are slightly exaggerated, and this work is more like a passionate satirical caricature. In keeping with Rococo's flashy style, Fragonard paid special attention to detail when portraying the young lady's skirt, with the ornate decorations in the scene and the fashion of the time almost becoming the third character in the scene.
This semi-pornographic theme was quite popular in the days of hedonistic and drunken fans before the French Revolution. However, with the outbreak of the Revolution, Fragonard's paintings and the extravagance of French society were overthrown together, and Fragonard also fell from the peak of the art world at that time, becoming the "last Rococo painter" and gradually forgotten.
It wasn't until two generations later that Fragonard's work was revived. Critics who are adept at discovering hidden meanings see the impending storm in the flickering eyes of the maidens, and see that it heralds that the winds of decadent society will not last. Therefore, "Stealing Kisses" has become a historical artifact, and at the same time, it also transcends the boundaries of pure pornography.
Fragonard's "Girl with a Dog"
Fragonard doesn't know if he had this idea at the time of creation, but I think that in terms of the old man's past as a first-class artist with erotic painting, there may be many metaphorical erotic symbols, but if the work has anything to do with the French Revolution, it is a bit far-fetched.
[From the east to the west, from the south to the north, in the artistic journey to find the truth and trace the source, look forward to you and I can become a confidant in the journey, but also hope to get your attention and sharing]