Head of a Boy (Alexandre-Évariste "Fanfan" Fragonard)

Maker Jean-Honoré Fragonard (French, 1732 - 1806)

Additional Title(s)

Head of a Boy (probably the Artist's Son)
Alexandre-Evariste
Fanfan
Head of a Boy

ClassificationsPAINTINGS

Dateca. 1785

Mediumoil on card

Dimensions8 5/16 × 7 1/16 in. (21.1 × 17.9 cm.) 13 1/2 × 11 × 12 in. (34.3 × 27.9 × 30.5 cm.)

Credit LineThe Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens. Adele S. Browning Memorial Collection, gift of Mildred Browning Green and Honorable Lucius Peyton Green

Status

On view

Label TextAround the time of his son’s birth in 1780, Fragonard began to paint small pictures of children in romantic, 17th-century Spanish costume. This may be a portrait of the artist’s son, Alexandre-Évarist, known as “Fanfan,” who grew up to be a painter like his father. The dark palette, spontaneous brushwork, and psychological penetration are evidence of Fragonard’s admiration for Rembrandt, the great 17th-century Dutch painter.

Object number78.20.5