Marguerite Gérard was born in Grasse in 1761.
Her sister Marie-Anne was also a painter known
for her miniatures. While Marguerite was no
doubt influenced by her sister’s work, it was her
brother-in-law who would have a more
profound impart on her artistic style. Jean-
Honoré Fragonard was one of the most popular
painters of his day. In 1777, at the age of
sixteen, Marguerite moved in with her sister and
famed brother-in-law. However, by this time,
Fragonard’s flamboyant rococo style had begun
to fall out of fashion with the public. Marguerite
studied under Fragonard, and she quickly
became one of his best pupils. However, it
seems that her preference for 17th Century
Dutch Baroque interior masters such as Ter
Borch and Metsu might have influenced
Fragonard himself as he adapted his style to
meet the changing tastes of collectors. It is clear
that these two artists collaborated on numerous
works and there is a remarkable similarity
between the detailed fabrics in Fragonard’s later
works and in Gerard’s works of the late 18th
Century. In fact some scholars have even
attributed one of Fragonard’s most beloved
paintings, Le Baiser a la Derobee, to his prized
pupil. By the end of the 18th Century, it appears
that Gérard had abandoned open air scenes for
good, choosing instead to concentrate upon
domestic interiors where children and cats were
prominently featured. Later, in 1837, she
passed away in Paris. Gérard was one of the
most successful female artists of her day whose
work, while harkening back to the Baroque era,
impacted the art of those around her.
This magnificent painting, entitled L’amour S’en
Va, reveals the influences not of her Dutch
Baroque idols, but of her teacher Fragonard. The
work depicts a pseudo-mythological scene in
which a standing robed woman comforts a naked
woman seated upon a architectural outcropping
in an outdoor setting shaded by tall trees. The
naked woman, hold her right arm outwards,
gesturing to the winged god of love, Cupid (also
called Eros) who flies away into the air. The
mischievous diety appears to turn around as he
flies away, perhaps hearing her cries. The female
companion consoles her heartbroken friend,
placing her right arm around her shoulder and
wiping away her tear with her dress, clutched in
her left hand. A potted rose bush, perhaps
symbolic of their love, has fallen over onto the
ground as rest at the feet of the wounded lover.
While he is not depicted, we can assumed there
is
a man to blame. Perhaps he just informed his
former lover of his impending departure.
Perhaps she found out the news through her
companion or a letter, although none is
depicted. Naked, we sense that she is vulnerable
to the pangs of love. While love can bring us
great joy, it also can cause great pain, as this
masterful painting so clearly reveals.
- (X.0192)
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