Boy with a Peep Show
Jean-Honoré Fragonard, Boy with a Peep Show, 1780, oil on canvas, Museum Purchase: Purchased from the Bowles Estate, with funds provided by the Ella M. Hirsch, Helen Thurston Ayer, Caroline Ladd Pratt, and Museum Auction Funds, public domain, 54.22
This work is not currently on view.
- Title
Boy with a Peep Show
- Artist
- Date
1780
- Medium
oil on canvas
- Dimensions (H x W x D)
15 1/2 in x 11 3/4 in
- Collection Area
European Art
- Category
Paintings
- Object Type
painting
- Culture
French
- Credit Line
Museum Purchase: Purchased from the Bowles Estate, with funds provided by the Ella M. Hirsch, Helen Thurston Ayer, Caroline Ladd Pratt, and Museum Auction Funds
- Accession Number
54.22
- Copyright
public domain
- Terms
This painting of a boy and its pendant of a girl depict Savoyards, natives of the region bordering France in northern Italy, and familiar figures throughout France in the eighteenth century as entertainers. The boy shows us a coin, possibly a payment to view his magic lantern peep show. While images of such charming, exotic figures were based in reality, Fragonard developed the theme into lively fantasy portraits, which were so well received that he painted several versions.
