The Bolt Jean Honore Fragonard (1732-1806)

Description of Jean Honoré Fragonard’s painting "The Latch

"The Latch" is a work by the most talented artist born in France and living in Paris in the 18th and 19th centuries. J. Fragonard. The author created it during a trip to Italy as a counterpoint to his equally famous masterpiece, The Adoration of the Shepherds. Both canvases became the property of an eminent customer, the bearer of the title of Marquis - Lewis de Verey. The works are in the same color scheme and are identical in size. However, if the first picture was painted on the basis of a biblical story, then "Latch" became an erotic revelation of the author. This subtle game of contrasts is particularly interesting.

Other names of the canvas are also known, depending on the subtleties of translation - "The Latch", "The Lock", "The Latchbolt". It is one of the 800 pearls of the exhibition of the main museum of France - the Louvre. The plot is provocative and frank. A passionate young couple is portrayed in a love affair. The young man in the painting is already partially undressed and reaches for the latch to lock the door. The lady is languid, flaccid in her beau’s arms, still trying to resist it. But one look at her face is enough to know what will happen next. The bed and the lady’s dress are already wrinkled, and it is obvious that the young people have already begun their love game. On the chair there is a symbolic picture of an apple, which according to religious writings is the sign of sin and weakness of the flesh. The composition is built diagonally.

The painting is striking not only for its quality of execution, but also for its value. A small copy of Fragonard’s masterpiece was sold for almost 8 million euros. Evaluate the cost of the original is quite difficult.