Le serment d'amour
Historical Context
Le Serment d'Amour at Waddesdon Manor depicts a lovers' oath, one of the quintessential Rococo subjects that Fragonard made his own. Such scenes of amorous pledges in garden settings reflected the courtly love traditions that persisted in French aristocratic culture throughout the ancien regime. The bravura brushwork—rapid, swirling strokes building luminous effects—was applied alla prima onto canvas primed with warm ochre grounds, a technique Fragonard developed after studying Tiepolo in...
Technical Analysis
The garden setting provides a lush backdrop of verdant foliage rendered with Fragonard's characteristic rapid brushwork. The figures are united in a pyramidal composition that draws the eye to their intimate exchange.
