# Love the Sentinel

**Jean Honoré Fragonard** (French, 1732–1806)  
c. 1773/1776  
oil on canvas  
overall (oval): 56.2 x 47.3 cm (22 1/8 x 18 5/8 in.) framed: 77.5 x 62.9 x 8.3 cm (30 1/2 x 24 3/4 x 3 1/4 in.)

Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1970.17.112. [The museum's record](https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.52256.html).

## About this work

Cupid stands in a flowering garden with a golden arrow in his hand, his quiver lying in the grass and two white doves flying overhead, as if keeping watch over lovers just out of sight. The small oval forms a pair with Love as Folly, in which the god of love flies off with reckless abandon; here he is the watchful guardian. Fragonard painted both in the mid-1770s with the fluid brushwork and soft pinks and greens of his most playful decorative style.

_Written by Ochre Editions._

Jean Honoré Fragonard painted this in about 1773/1776, aged about 41. It is now at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.

### What you’re looking at

This oval painting depicts a cherubic child in a garden setting. The child is standing with one foot in front of the other and has small wings on their back. The child has light skin, curly blond hair, rosy cheeks, and a playful expression. They are mostly nude, except for a cloth that wraps around their back and covers their groin. The child is holding a golden arrow. They are standing in front of a light green bush with pink flowers. In the bottom left, there is a dark blue object in the green grass that looks like a torch or cylindrical quiver. The setting includes lush greenery and more clusters of pink and white flowers. The background features a pastel blue sky with soft pink clouds and two white doves flying above.

_Description from the National Gallery of Art._

### How it was made

- **Oil paint.** Pigment ground in a drying oil, usually linseed. It dries slowly, so painters could blend on the canvas, build up thin translucent glazes, and rework a picture over weeks. Canvas replaced wooden panels in the 1500s because it is lighter and can be rolled.

### [Jean Honoré Fragonard](https://www.ochreeditions.com/artists/jean-honore-fragonard)

French, 1732–1806; born in Grasse; died in Paris

Fragonard studied with Chardin and then Boucher, won the Prix de Rome and spent five years in Italy, where he drew the gardens of the Villa d’Este. Back in Paris he largely set aside official commissions to paint for private collectors: playful love scenes such as The Swing, rapidly brushed “fantasy figures” and luminous landscapes. The Revolution ended the taste for his art, and he spent his last years as an administrator of the new national museum at the Louvre.

_Written by Ochre Editions._

## Facts

- Type: Painting
- The artist was about 41
- Real size: about 22 × 19 in (56 × 47 cm). The 18 × 24 in print is close to life size.
- Century: 18th century
- Subjects: emotion, Cupid, Love
- Colour: brown
- Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose.

## Get it

- Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/1547.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/1547/1920.jpg
- Giclée reproduction on Hahnemühle Photo Rag: 8 × 10 in $28; 11 × 14 in $38; 12 × 16 in $42; 16 × 20 in $56; 18 × 24 in $68; 20 × 30 in $86; 24 × 36 in $108
- Framed reproduction: 8 × 10 in $78; 11 × 14 in $98; 12 × 16 in $108; 16 × 20 in $138; 18 × 24 in $164; 20 × 30 in $208; 24 × 36 in $258
- Canvas reproduction: 8 × 10 in $58; 11 × 14 in $72; 12 × 16 in $79; 16 × 20 in $98; 18 × 24 in $118; 20 × 30 in $148
- Print-ready file: 8 × 10 in $2; 11 × 14 in $2; 12 × 16 in $3; 16 × 20 in $3; 18 × 24 in $3; 20 × 30 in $5; 24 × 36 in $5

Sizes stop where the museum's file would print below 150 pixels per inch. Everything sold is a reproduction, made to order. [Order a print](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/love-the-sentinel-nga-52256).