Caught KISSING A DOG

It’s embarrassing to be human. Even as it is holy, and decadent.

Fragonard is a master of color and gesture, movement, and style. He's a superb storyteller, capturing immense personality and subtext in his figures through their poses and expressions. His more celebrated works are delightful vignettes that feel like inspiration for Barry Lyndon.

There is something so comical and real to me in this portrait, a work I encountered perhaps 2-3 years ago. The directness of her gaze, and the sort of self-awareness — the sensation that she, in this moment, is perceiving herself to be slightly absurd. Yet, also magnificent and beyond reproach. Annoyed by the intrusion of the artist. Yet mockery is worship, perhaps.

And then there's the execution. The abstraction in those folds of fabric. The control of the palette. The graphic presentation of figure against ground. It's so Pop Art, in a way. As if Warhol could sit still long enough to apply paint with a brush.