This painting presents an allegory of music. The woman may be Erato, who was the Greek Muse of lyric and love poetry. She is commonly portrayed with a putto at her feet and one of several musical instruments, here a lyre and a brass instrument, as well as a book of music. Erato was likely a part of a decorative ensemble that included depictions of her eight sisters, the Muses.
Details
- Artist Name: Jean-Honoré Fragonard (French, 1732-1806)
- Title: Music
- Date: c. 1761–65
- Medium: Oil on canvas
- Dimensions: 30-3/4 x 52 in. (78.1 x 132.1 cm)
- Credit Line: The Norton Simon Foundation
- Accession Number: F.1969.28.1.P
- Copyright: © The Norton Simon Foundation
Object Information
Private Collection, France.
[Galerie André Weil, Paris; sold 4 August 1969 to;]
The Norton Simon Foundation, consigned to Wildenstein, London, 1979, unsold;
Fragonard
- Tokyo, National Museum of Western Art, 1980-03-18 to 1980-05-11
- Kyoto, Municipal Museum, 1980-05-20 to 1980-06-29
- Tokyo, National Museum of Western Art, Kyoto, Municipal Museum, to
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- Norton Simon Museum, 2015-07-17 to 2016-01-04
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- Richmond, Virginia, Museum of Fine Arts, 1970-06-02 to 1972-04-20
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- California Palace of the Legion of Honor, 1973-05-03 to 1976-06-15
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- Norton Simon Museum, 1993-09-02 to 1995-08-13
- Cailleux, Jean, The Burlington Magazine, p. ii as Music
- Portalis, Baron Roger de, Scènes de la vie champêtre, panneaux décoratifs de Fragonard, 1902,
- Wildenstein, Georges, The Paintings of Fragonard, 1960, Fig. 36 bis no. 51 ter, as Music (La Musique) pp. 204-205
- Mandel, Gabriele, and Wildenstein, Daniel, L'opera complete di Fragonard, 1972, no. 60 p. 88
- Morse, John D., Old Master Paintings in North America, 1979, p. 128
- Cuzin, Jean-Pierre, Jean-Honoré Fragonard: Vie et oeuvre, 1987, no. 205 p. 298
- Cuzin, Jean-Pierre, Jean-Honoré Fragonard: Life and Work. Complete Catalogue of the Oil Paintings, 1988, no. 205 p. 299
- Masterpieces from the Norton Simon Museum, 1989, p. 91
- Campbell, Sara, Collector Without Walls: Norton Simon and His Hunt for the Best, 2010, cat. 669 p. 325
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