Le rire chez Fragonard

Fragonard and comic pleasure. The comic in paintings is generally studied through only two genres, namely caricature and the representation of comic scenes based on a theatrical model ; in both cases the purpose is to denounce moral deviance. Fragonard however proposes a conception of the comic which is based instead on the search for pleasure by both the figures and the spectator ; he adopts three methods which correspond approximately to three successsive periods of his creative output. During his Italian period, laughter is above all caused by exposing the innocence of beings, and complicity is more important than condemnation. In the 1760s, his comic is based on a question of the very principles of the art of painting, following a reflexive approach. In the 1770s, Fragonard emphasizes the delicate balance between innocent happiness and tragic burlesque, which is more and more evident.