The Intimate Conversation

This sheet is a good example of Fragonard’s masterly drawing technique. He created an illusion of light and shade through subtle nuances in the washes. The clothing of the woman on the left, for example, has an almost tactile quality. Fragonard left parts of the sheet uncovered, exposing the colour of the paper. Those areas form highlights that contrast with the dark hair ornament worn by the woman on the left and her companion’s dark cape. The women´s hands, like the background, are merely suggested, so that all attention is focused on their costumes and faces. The vivacious woman on the right whispers in the ear of her dreamy-eyed companion, hence the title of the drawing, La Confidence. Both women look directly into the eyes of the observer, and so draw us into the intimacy of the moment. They could even be whispering about us.

The women are probably Marie-Anne Gérard, who married Fragonard in 1769, and her younger sister Marguerite, Fragonard’s pupil. Marguerite lived with the couple at the Louvre in Paris, where Fragonard had a studio and the family occupied an apartment. This drawing was probably made there. The object on the table could be a drawing board, which Marguerite would have used during her art lessons with her brother-in-law.