The Stolen Kiss
Historical Context
Fragonard's The Stolen Kiss from 1787, in the Hermitage, is one of his last major paintings, created when the Rococo style he embodied was being swept away by the Neoclassical austerity championed by David. The painting depicts a young woman receiving a furtive kiss in a richly furnished interior, captured with Fragonard's characteristic combination of sensuality and tenderness. The Hermitage acquired the painting from the French collection of Count Stanislas Potocki, one of many works of French Rococo art that found their way to Russian collections.
Technical Analysis
Fragonard renders the stolen moment with characteristic warmth and fluidity, the figures caught in a dynamic diagonal composition. The rich interior setting is painted with refined attention to silk textures and decorative objects, demonstrating the technical mastery of his mature style.
