This is one of the most famous works of Fragonard. It became especially popular when in 1784 an engraving was made from it. The artist wrote it for the Marquis de Berry. The “gate” is not the first picture created by Fragonard for de Berry. A few years earlier, the Marquis bought from the artist a religious painting “Adoration of the Shepherds.”
In 1816, one of the early biographers of Fragonard observed that the “Gate” is “full of mysterious contrasts.” Later researchers claimed that there were no “mysterious contrasts” in the picture, and that the artist, through a number of oppositions, expressed in his own way the traditional idea of love of the earthly and heavenly. After the death of the Marquis de Berry, which happened in 1785, the painting was sold at auction. The catalog of the auction said: “The picture shows a room in which a young man and a young woman are.” The man is about to push the door bolt, the woman is trying to stop it. “
(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)