The Progress of Love: Love Letters

The Progress of Love: Love Letters was the final in a series of four paintings dedicated to the theme of love and romance.

We find a young couple placed centrally within the composition, overlooked by a grand sculpture to the right, plus a charming parasol that perhaps belongs to the woman in this painting. They sit on top of a sculptured stand and are enjoying some rare moments of privacy together. Fragonard often captured the lives of young romantic couples within his paintings. Behind them is a small opening within a forested section of a large garden and this gap allows light to flow throughout onto the couple. In the nearest foreground are decorative touches of flowers and bushes which add additional aesthetic value and help to create this charming setting. In relation to the overall series of The Progress of Love, the four pieces that completed this project were The Meeting, The Lover Crowned, The Pursuit and The Love Letters.

It is worth studying this set of paintings together, as a whole, as this was the intention of the artist when the original commission arrived. He worked across the years of 1771-1773, approximately, in order to complete each of these four works. They already had a destination in which to be displayed, and Fragonard would have considered this when planning the four. There is a consistency in composition across the four, with flurries of figures dancing and playing within his carefully crafted Rococo landscapes. This style was nothing new within his career, but what makes these paintings particularly interesting is how they are part of a set and also the technical qualities of them. Fragonard developed his skills with foliage, drapery and portraiture throughout his lifetime, but had already mastered so much by the time that he worked on this project.

A notable collector by the name of Henry Clay Frick would eventually purchased this series of work and immediately set about installing them in a purpose-built section of his gallery. He continued to increase his collection before his family set about strengthening this array of art over the next few generation, thus the Frick collection was founded. A visit to the Frick collection in New York will also give you the opportunity to study original paintings from other great masters such as El Greco, Hilaire-Germain-Edgar Degas, Claude Lorrain and Bartolomé Esteban Murillo. Despite the competitive nature of leisure time in this vibrant city, as well as the particularly strong focus on the arts, this venue still retains a prominent position within the intentions of most visiting tourists from across the US and beyond.