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The First Riding Lesson (La première leçon d'équitation)

Jean-Honoré Fragonard

European Art

In this scene doting parents and a patient dog help a child learn how to ride. Their gentle instruction makes a striking contrast with the negligent and compromised behavior of the impoverished parents amid urban squalor depicted by William Hogarth in his contemporaneous Gin Lane, on view nearby.

Jean-Honoré Fragonard’s best-known works are playful scenes of lovers and happy families rendered with a lively touch. In addition to intimate paintings and large commissions for his elite clientele, he also produced many large-scale wash drawings like this one, which were considered finished works of art rather than preparatory studies for paintings.
MEDIUM Brown ink and graphite on laid paper
  • Place Made: France
  • DATES ca. 1778
    DIMENSIONS 13 11/16 x 17 3/4 in. (34.8 x 45.1 cm)  (show scale)
    COLLECTIONS European Art
    ACCESSION NUMBER 57.189
    CREDIT LINE Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Alastair B. Martin, the Guennol Collection
    MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view
    CAPTION Jean-Honoré Fragonard (French, 1732-1806). The First Riding Lesson (La première leçon d'équitation), ca. 1778. Brown ink and graphite on laid paper, 13 11/16 x 17 3/4 in. (34.8 x 45.1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Alastair B. Martin, the Guennol Collection, 57.189 (Photo: , 57.189_PS9.jpg)
    IMAGE overall, 57.189_PS9.jpg., 2019
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