Beauty and Grace

Beauty and grace command the world.

(Park Benjamin)

 Jean-Honoré Fragonard 
  A Young Girl Reading
  c. 1770  
Oil on canvas, 81 x 65 cm  
National Gallery of Art, Washington  

Beauty and grace are two traits which rarely appear in their purest form in one individual.

People who have shown true beauty and grace have captured our hearts and minds.

They are the legends, the shining stars, the unforgettable.

They have been poor people, princesses, volunteers and saints, and have commanded our world, and our attention.

But sometimes, they have been the quiet ones, silent in deed and in voice, yet still full of beauty and grace.

Whom do you see as full of beauty and true grace?

Jacques-Louis David - Political and Artistic Activist

   Jacques-Louis David (August 30, 1748 - December 29, 1825) was a French Neoclassical painter, whose influence impacted both the politics of the French revolution, and the art world of early 19th century France. Aligning himself with Maximilien Robespierre, a driving force in the Revolution, David used his art to create political statements, painting portraits of significant events and creating propaganda pieces for the New Republic.
   David was eventually imprisoned during the political chaos, and later released due to his wife's intervention. He became the court painter for Napoleon, painting him crossing the Alps, his coronation, and in his study.
   He greatly influenced classical painting, and his students included  Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres and Antoine-Jean Gros.
   Read David's complete biography here.

Portrait of the Artist  1794
Oil on canvas, 81 x 64 cm
Musée du Louvre, Paris



The Death of Marat  1793
Oil on canvas, 162 x 128 cm
Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts, Brussels

 

Napoleon at the St. Bernard Pass  1801
Oil on canvas, 246 x 231 cm
Österreichische Galerie Belvedere, Vienna



Anne-Marie-Louise Thélusson, Comtesse de Sorcy  1790
Oil on canvas, 129 x 97 cm
Neue Pinkothek, Munich

Daily Art Quote



Perseverance is failing nineteen times and succeeding the twentieth.

(Julie Andrews)



 Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin
A Child with a Teetotum, 1738
Oil on canvas, 67 x 76 cm
Musée du Louvre, Paris




Jean-Honoré Fragonard

Jean-Honoré Fragonard
Young Girl Reading c. 1770
oil on canvas,  32.3"x 25.6"
National gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

Jean-Honoré Fragonard
(5 April 1732– 22 August 1806)

Notable for his themes of love and romance, Fragonard was a French painter, whose lively and expressive brushstrokes influenced the later style of Impressionism.

He was highly prolific, producing over 500 paintings, sketches and etchings, yet his work remained largely forgotten until the late 19th century. Fragonard's son, Alexandre-Évariste, also became an artist.