Diana and Endymion
Jean Honoré Fragonard·c. 1753/1756
Historical Context
Diana and Endymion (c. 1753-56), at the National Gallery of Art, is an early mythological painting from Fragonard's formative period as a student of François Boucher. The subject — the moon goddess Diana visiting the beautiful sleeping shepherd Endymion — was popular in Rococo art for its combination of nocturnal atmosphere and romantic narrative. The young Fragonard shows the direct influence of Boucher in the soft, creamy flesh tones and idealized figural types, though he was already developing the more energetic brushwork that would distinguish his mature style. The painting demonstrates Fragonard's origins within the Rococo tradition that Boucher dominated, before he developed the more personal and spontaneous manner that would set him apart.
Technical Analysis
The early work shows Fragonard developing his distinctive style under Italian influence. The composition uses dramatic lighting to illuminate the sleeping Endymion while Diana emerges from shadow, with soft modeling of flesh and diaphanous drapery. The palette is warmer and more sensuous than the Neoclassical norm.
Provenance
Sir Richard Wallace, 1st bt. [1818-1890], London and Paris, by 1883;[1] by inheritance to his wife, Julie-Amélie-Charlotte Castelnau, Lady Wallace [1819-1897], Paris and London; by inheritance to her adviser and secretary, Sir John Murray Scott [1847-1912], London and Paris; by inheritance to his friend, Josephine Victoria Sackville-West, Lady Sackville [1864-1936], Sevenoaks, Kent [painting remained in Paris during this time]; sold 1913 to (Jacques Seligmann and Co., Inc., Paris and New York, no. 579 of Seligmann inventory); sold 1914 to (M. Knoedler & Co., London, New York, and Paris); sold March 1922 to John McCormack [1884-1945], New York; (M. Knoedler & Co., London, New York, and Paris); sold 1924 to William R. Timken [1866-1949], New York;[2] by inheritance to his widow, Lillian Guyer Timken [1881-1959] New York; bequest 1960 to NGA. [1] Alexandre Ananoff, with Daniel Wildenstein, _François Boucher_, 2 vols., Lausanne and Paris, 1976: 1:173, no. 36, confused the early provenance of NGA's _Diana and Endymion_ by Fragonard with that of the Boucher painting of the same title. It was the Boucher painting that appeared in sales in Paris in 1773, 1779, and 1830. [2] Provenance information beginning with Knoedler's 1914 purchase from Seligmann's through their 1924 sale to Timken is from David Rust's notes of a telephone conversation on 15 July 1981 with Nancy Little, Knoedler librarian (in NGA curatorial files).
