The Pre-Arranged Flight

After studying with both François Boucher and Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin, Fragonard won the Prix de Rome in 1752. When he returned to Paris in 1761, he was received into the French Academy as agréé (not a full member). Instead of pursuing a career as a painter of historical and religious works, he chose to focus on genre paintings. By the late 1760s, he had a large number of aristocratic clients who delighted in exquisitely crafted depictions of amorous themes. This portrayal of an elegantly dressed woman running from the gentleman in the distance, under beautiful skies in a verdant setting, exemplifies the works he painted for them.