Fragonard: Painting out of Time

The reproductions in the book are a mixed bag. Some are quite clear and legible, but others are not. I simply cannot see, in "The Farmer's Children," p. 37, illus. 13, the "polished copper pan" which the text says that the figure on the left is holding. I can see the (or a) pan on the floor, centered, but the reproduction is so dark, here and in the background at the top, that the pan seems to be simply lying on the floor. Moreover, in the background of the same picture, the "obscene and shadowy glimpse of forced sex" the author refers to is totally invisible.Besides the variable quality of the illustrations, the author relentlessly pushes readings of some of the works that I simply can't see. The best example here is a drawing, "Artist in His Studio," p. 43, figure 19, in which the author greatly emphases the artist' small stature. But if one just looks at the picture, there is no such visible implication. The male figure's right lower leg is clearly taller than the chair he sits on. The foreshortening of the left leg is because of his extremely relaxed sitting position. In addition, the man's torso is shown leaning at a 45-degree angle, looking up at the young woman beside him, and to my eye it's perfectly possible to imagine that if he stood up, he would be fully as tall as she.But the author is mesmerized by Fragonard's own small stature (4'11"), and that seems to color a great deal of his interpretations. Much of the rest is, to my eyes, seriously over-psychologized, rather too far removed from what one actually sees in the reproductions. So while there are some very good elements in the text and the reproductions, at the same time there is much that is less satisfying or convincing. A very mixed bag here.