Young Girl Reading: A Hidden Portrait Revealed
A question long posed of this painting has been, “Does it represent one of Fragonard’s fantasy figures?” Its dimensions, palette, and energetic brushwork conform to those of the known works in the group, as does the girl’s pseudo-Spanish costume with its elaborate ruff collar. Yet the other fantasy figures assume dramatic poses and turn their faces to meet the viewer’s gaze, whereas the girl in the Gallery’s painting is shown in quiet repose, turned in profile, enraptured by her book, oblivious to viewers. Recent technical studies and the discovery of the related drawing provide some answers.
![Shown from the lap up, a young woman with pale skin, wearing a goldenrod-yellow dress, sits reading a small book, facing our left in profile in this vertical painting. The deep, scooped neckline of her rich yellow gown is edged with lace and decorated with a mauve-purple bow at the bust. Her chest is covered by sheer white fabric under a ruffled, pleated collar. The ruff is tied at the back with another mauve bow, and a ribbon of the same color ties up her chestnut-brown hair. She has a delicate nose and rosebud mouth, and she tips her head down to read the book she holds in one hand. She sits against an oversize pillow streaked with pale lilac and deep rose pink. Her left arm, closer to us, is draped over a railing that extends across the width of the canvas. The background behind her is streaked with tan and muted teal blue. A vertical strip of light caramel brown along the right edge of the canvas suggests another wall against which the pillow rests. The artist’s loose, lively brushstrokes are visible throughout.](https://media.nga.gov/iiif/2476ae10-777c-43af-b48c-a6bc141aecac/full/!740,560/0/default.jpg)
Jean Honoré Fragonard, Young Girl Reading, c. 1769, oil on canvas, Gift of Mrs. Mellon Bruce in memory of her father, Andrew W. Mellon, 1961.16.1
In 1985 Gallery conservators
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Fragonard’s Sketches of Portraits includes a drawing that closely resembles
Jean-Honoré Fragonard, Sketches of Portraits (detail), c. 1769, pen and ink, Private collection
In 2012–2013 a team of researchers at the Gallery used more sophisticated imaging techniques to gain a clearer view of the underlying portrait. This x-ray fluorescence (XRF) image reveals that it indeed depicted a woman. In addition, it became clear that this former figure wore a large feathered headdress. The solid black lines indicate tears in the canvas that were repaired at an unknown date.
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This overlay of details from an x-radiograph and a hyperspectral
![](/content/dam/ngaweb/features/exhibitions/fragonard/young-girl-reading/faces-young-girl-reading.jpg)
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Why did Fragonard repaint this portrait? On Sketches of Portraits, the artist inscribed names below every portrait except this one. Perhaps the sitter or patron rejected the painting and Fragonard repainted it for the art market, turning a portrait of a specific individual into a general scene from daily life that might appeal to any prospective buyer.
- Fragonard: The Fantasy Figures
- October 8 – December 3, 2017
- Fragonard, Jean Honoré
- French, 1732 - 1806